All around the globe, young people are going any length to make money and live life as lavishly as they can. They call this the ‘soft life,' a life void of hard work, uncomfortableness, sacrifice and all the unpleasant situations in life.

A life in which they would escape the looming hands of poverty and suffering and squander money on most of the things irrelevant at this point in their lives such as big houses, fancy cars, huge parties and more.

The texture of lives they have chosen to live or achieve is no one’s concern. Nevertheless, what is most unsettling is the different avenues they get the monies from and how they would stop at nothing to obtain it at the young stages of their lives.

Children in high schools – and even as low as primary school - all the way to universities would give anything they are able to offer in exchange for pleasure and luxury.

Some young ladies would care less if they have to offer their bodies to multiple people, from officials in high places and any man who promises to give them anything they ask for.

Minors, especially boys and men of all ages, are also being pressured to commit criminal offences such as money laundering, fraud, kidnapping, selling of drugs and others - like offering humans as sacrifice - in exchange for fame and/or affluence.

Some are sadly forced to engage in acts associated with homosexuality when it is not in accordance with their sexuality. These acts have become the way to make easy money, where they do not have to toil for long hours and wait for salaries or minimum wages.

Society may frown upon all the ills happening amongst the youth today; however, they see no better and easier options of survival. They do not see the relevance of schooling because they see thousands of graduates each year who end up jobless.

Some of them do not have the resources to afford an education or even feed themselves and wonder what they could do to make as much money as others make. Due to this, they find diverse ways of surviving while fitting into the community at the same time.

Currently, people believe that to earn respect and a place in the world, one would have to be in ownership of a certain amount of wealth and properties. You would be bewildered at the various stories people tell about the disgraceful means by which they acquired their wealth.

At the end of it all, what is it worth? For a place at a table you did not even work to build yourself? Let’s be guided because there are many hardworking youths out there who make the money they have out of their sweat and toil and their special abilities - which is very admirable of them and, thus, have every right to use it “as they please.”

But when does the line between using your special abilities or talents to work and make money differentiate one from trading off your dignity and home training to gain that huge amount in your account?

Most of the public figures the youth look up to are also equally responsible for their behaviour. They show off big wads of cash and live large when they cannot explain logically the sources of their wealth.

The younger ones follow blindly and lead themselves to practice outrageous deeds without thinking twice about its ramifications. The extreme love of money and fixation on opulence have caused several people, not just the youth, to be materialistic.

It has never been wrong to be abundantly rich or aspiring to be. Nonetheless, there are millions of other avenues which determined and hardworking youth are still pursuing.

Obviously, if one of such youth happens to come across this piece, there would be a 70% chance that they would come up with an excuse to condone their thirst for vanity instead of seeing this as a wake-up call; and one couldn’t entirely blame them - they are too deep with the “soft life”.

They see the flashy things all around, the growing plague known as social media and, in no time, jealousy, envy and a thirst for vanity sets in, giving them an unnecessary pressure to do whatever it takes – not out of hard work – to get it all.

It should be said that this is not a religious or moral piece but, rather, could be considered as a gentle word of advice from a growing teenager not pleased with her fellow youth’s recent obsession with being affirmed or validated by the luxuries of social media and the “soft life”.

“Nothing good in life comes easy,” as the old adage goes, which should be a reminder to all that if you desire good success, prepare to “suffer to gain” for it.

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Janelle Eyram Fiagbenu is a Ghanaian Teen Travel Photographer and student. She loves to capture the lives and tell the stories of every aspect of the Ghanaian society and is passionate about the wellbeing of children.