This week's columnist is Sam Priestley, a 19-year-old Durham University student formerly of Denholme.

Life is a precious gift that many young people in West Yorkshire seem happy to waste. Gangs of youths roam towns and occupy village streets. Newspapers told of a middle-aged man beaten by youths and an arson attack on a shopkeeper's home. Others waste much of their young lives indoors, perhaps listening to unnecessarily loud music before a drinking spree at night. And then there is smoking.

Why do young lives come to this? Why waste life? Why be a nuisance? There is a better way to live, but it requires motivation.

Growing up in Denholme provided me with some fabulous childhood memories. Yet when I reached a certain age, feeling bored and constrained by my isolated rural village predicament, I did not merely accept it, accept that I had nothing to do, or resort to anti-social behaviour.

Rather I studied to create openings for myself and last summer moved to university for what was to be the best year of my life, partaking in new experiences and meeting new friends.

I learned to respect my health. I dedicated myself to badminton and rowing, and continue to enjoy an active, busy, balanced life. The elation of winning a summer regatta, or of edging into the Durham University badminton first team, has given me brilliant memories and a sense of achievement. Therefore I have little sympathy for the overweight youth of today, whose problems arise from passivity, laziness and generally bad lifestyles. Be motivated, and lead a more fulfilling life.

Why not step back and consider ways of building upon one's capabilities, confidence and experiences? With the freedom of youth on my side, and in an age when the world is so accessible, I travelled to broaden my horizons. Money should be no excuse. One can find money, as I did by writing to businesses and charitable trusts to fund my place on an expedition across China last summer. This summer I backpacked around South America using money from paid employment.

As a result I have navigated the Tian Shan mountains with Kazak horsemen, trudged through the Takilimakan desert with Uighur camel herders, smelt freshly-roasted lamb in a bustling Beijing market, and come to appreciate the disparity of wealth across the South American continent. Such experiences are available to any sufficiently-driven individual.

What is likely to be more rewarding and useful in the long run? A summer of discovery in an unfamiliar location? Or a summer of employment, only to fritter the profits away on booze and cigarettes? It is a case of being enterprising, of thinking in broader terms about the future and of gaining life skills to prepare for it.

I was not blessed with an expensive education at Bradford Grammar School, but rather spent nine years at Parkside in Cullingworth. Nor are my parents millionaires. Yet through a motivated and dedicated mindset I have created openings for myself.

In the global scheme of things all humans - irrespective of wealth or success - are insignificant. We are all tiny in the complex multi-million piece jigsaw that is humanity. Yet the youth of today are the future of our world.

On an individual level we must be satisfied by the life that we lead. In a world so tarnished by war and bloodshed, we must all be positive and harmonious. The only way to do this, making the most out of our chance in life, is to be motivated.