Wow, time really does fly.
It's been months since my last post and I'd like to say that so much has happened, but at the same time, nothing really has. Maybe it's because I'm constantly growing and changing, becoming and embracing more and more of the true & whole me:
I am the least and most hipster of hipsters. I'm a little more "no collar" than I've ever embraced but definitely should've sooner. Life is a lot more enjoyable when you're looking through your own eyes instead of worrying about how other's are seeing you through theirs. So here's to my friends in the mismatched patterns, flowy shirts, and birkenstocks. Those of you out there who doodle like it's their day job and whose actual day jobs may be a little unconventional, or at least you wish it was.
Speaking of unconventional... I recently have had an unreal reality check: my future isn't going to be a 'normal' one. I've decided to chase after the "impossible" and everyday I seem to find more and more people who are almost more on board than I am most days.
To the people who remember and believe in my dreams, even when I forget them: Thank you.
One of my upcoming assignments is to write about a poverty related issue in a local region. I chose at -risk children and youth in Brantford. A major portion of the paper is write out 3-5 recommendations that I would have to help tackle this issue in our society. That means I get to write about my home for emancipated youth, for homework. Yes folks- that means I am putting my dreams on paper.
It's one of the most terrifyingly exhilarating things I think I've ever anticipated.
Until I have a formal write-up, here's my heart:
No. More. Orphans.
It may not be a total reality that I see in my life time, but you best believe I'll be dedicating my life to getting that ball rolling.
The plan for my life, is to find a property and set up a home for youth ages 16-24 that allows youth to learn life skills that they not have from parents or caregivers during their childhood and teen years. This is something that's crucial in youth that are aging out of the system that may not have had steady and solid foster home placements. Too many youth get sent out, set out, and fall out into the world who haven't the slightest clue how to cope and as a result grow into our homeless adult population - or worse.
Think about how many of the stories you've heard throughout your life of people who at one point or another "had so much potential" that no one helped grow, that no one invested in, that no one cared even to notice: Where would those people be now?
That boy under the bridge who is selling drugs, verging on an all too serious and killer addiction himself, destroying every organ inside his young body. The thing is, he's unbelievably talented when it comes to chemistry. His drugs sell the best because he's figured out what will cause the best high. What if someone told him he could be developing chemical compounds that would save lives?
What about that girl on the street corner, it's her first night out there, she's scared out of her mind...she's freezing in clothes that you wouldn't even expect to see in a music video. Thing is, she designed that outfit from scraps, she knew it'd work, she knew it'd sell. Why? Because her creativity has no ceiling. She could be a top selling, world renown fashion designer. No one will ever know that though, because her first john that night stole her and sold her in to the black market.
These are all to real realities of our world.
What if these kids had a place to go, what if they had a place here that was willing to teach them what they needed to know, to show them how to get their education, what if there was a place that provided more than a temporary roof...what if there was a place where they found hope because someone believed in them.
What if someone, just for a wrinkle in time, invested in their potential?
What if they didn't get lost, and left behind? What if no other youth fell through the cracks?
What if there wasn't any teens left to turn into our homeless adults?
What would our city look like then?
PS, I want this place to do it in:
No comments:
Post a Comment