Youth is a lie.

The very act of defining youth itself is also a lie. There is no definition that could encompass the concept of 'youth'. Attempting to phrase it in one's own words is nothing but a pointless and hypocritical endeavor, which is embolden by false understanding that they can term it in words that everyone could understand. The truth is, nothing could be truly defined.

Youth falls into this category as well. Different people put the term in different meanings, thus leading to various inconsistencies when comparing definitions with anyone else. It is both a waste of effort, all for some sliver of self-gratification that might result at the end of it all. Reality however, is always an arduous taskmaster. No matter how much self-gratification that one might earn in searching for the definition of youth, it would always force one to face the facts. That such a thing isn't wholly important to the world at large.

What then, is important? Is there something out there that would validate our efforts in finding it, even though the cold hand of reality would seep into our fantasies sooner or later? Once again, everything is relative. What is important cannot be truly be defined, such as every other term out there. There is only a compromise. A mutual understanding between two or more parties – an arbitrary definition, and nothing more.

Therefore, I posit that someone – even me – could define an activity as important, in the same way that I could say that youth is a lie. Everyone is entitled to our opinion, and trying to dissuade is nothing more than thinly-veiled brainwashing. Thus, I would like to say that whoever might be reading this...take what I say with a grain of salt.

I have been through a lot of trials and endeavors in order to become the person that I am today. Genetics had put me through a course of school bullying during elementary, which only worsened and intensified during middle school. It is due to this that I believe youth is a lie – if I were to base my own definitions about youth and compare it to what I observed, then I would definitely reject it. Does youth mean the incessant bullying and name-calling? Does youth mean the isolation of people out of the norm in order to keep the status quo?

No, it isn't. At least, for me. Like I said, I am entitled to my own opinions, and this rule also applies to you.

Youth is a lie due to not meeting with my expectations. It is a hypocritical thought, yet it is the only one that brings me solace after everything that I had been through. After all, if all of my expectations end up coming short, then I could summarily deduce that whatever expectations that I would have in the future would also fall short. This line of thinking is nothing more than a defense mechanism, my comfort blanket. By keeping my expectations of other people high, I could convince myself that it is nothing more than a natural occurrence to be let down.

Such a self-destructive mindset is nothing more than the product of past experiences. Others say that only the present molds us into the people that we mean to be, but I disagree; the past affects us very much so. Being accepted into a good college requires having good grades in high school. Being accepted in a good job requires having good marks and attitude from one's college. Society is structured in such a way wherein the past matters much more than the future. Once again, this is based upon my own opinion, and therefore is subject to second or tertiary thoughts. It is up to you if you want to believe them.

Indeed, I dare say that those who say such inspiring words have never experienced being life's punching bag. They were never in the shoes of those looked upon unfavorably by the word, and thus they spout words from on high, never sympathizing with their listeners, but only pitying them. It is the main reason as to why I hate those kinds of people; they all put on a mask to hide their true thoughts – that they are not spouting off words of encouragement in order to inspire others to be better than themselves, but to feed their own ego to proclaim that they are on a higher level that those that they inspire.

Really, a lot of the cliques in my class are the same. All you need is to observe.

And speaking of masks, I had a little...experience regarding them during the start of my third year in middle school. This was after the whole fiasco with my...failed confessions, and the subsequent bullying that came after. I told myself to go to school – to prove myself better than them; to prove that their words would not affect me. Of course, things didn't work as planned. I was only fourteen...close to fifteen at the time, and so I did not have the maturity to understand the situation. Liken it to me being an ordinary hot-blooded male.

So, the cracks in my mask started to come apart little by little as the jeers and taunts continued. Until...the mask finally disappeared. I took solace in the fact that they were the ones who had done this to me. There would be no more lies. I would no longer care as to whether or not I would be ostracized even further. If they think of me as a pathetic person, they I would no longer care. I would only acknowledge the truth, and nothing else.

Then...that was when the magic started. Masks formed on everyone's faces, all in the style of a noh mask. Blank, formless, and oh-so fearful. Immediately, I turned back to what I was when I was a kid; awkward, always shifting gazes...afraid. They were nothing more than masks yes, but...that's the scary part, isn't it? You don't know who was hiding behind those masks...Not even a single thing.

Of course, it might be due to the form of my repressed trauma finally taking shape in a form that I could understand. That try as I might to understand other people, I could only get blank slates. I...don't really have all the answers as to why I saw them like that. I thought that it was going to continue on forever.

Well, once again, my expectations were proven wrong. By one Azusagawa Sakuta.

Out of all the people that I had met back then...he was the only one that didn't have a mask on.

- Hikigaya Hachiman's first draft of his essay, 'The Main Reasons as to Why Youth was a Lie'. The words after this part were ripped out of the page. His reasoning being that anything after this would be enough evidence to constitute as 'hero worship'. Thus, the final draft that he submitted was one that removed all said evidence of 'hero worship', and left him in a precarious position in the Service Club.