The first day of classes draws near, and never before have I ever been so ready to head off to school.
I love to learn. As much as I dislike patronizing “fluff” classes and the mindless drivel which passes as one’s secondary education, I revel in being exposed to new ideas. Discovering like-minded individuals with whom I share coping strategies. Being asked serious questions, or simply being reminded of some basic facts of life.
Today, however, was a special moment for me. I have been fighting what, at times, has felt to be an uphill battle, volunteering with a youth leadership development program designed to redirect local teenagers from joining gangs. My time with the project has been limited, and despite the stated goals and objects perfectly in line with my passion for youth oriented civic-engagement opportunities, I struggled to find where I could best apply my skills.
After refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer, bringing potentially valuable partners on board, and delivering everything asked of me, my persistence paid off. My superiors asked for a rough outline of a the curriculum, and I delivered.
Never before have I been able to rely on personal experience and benefited so much from my reading and intellectual curiosity… despite an ambitious assignment, the pieces seemed to fall into place. Trust building activities? I knew several from a diversity/ leadership course I took last year. Key civic issues? A stint on a past advisory board and personal research provided what I needed. A defense for my method of empowering the students? Varied personal experience, buttressed by rhetoric techniques impressed upon me by a former teacher. Support for where the youth will go and what they can accomplish? First uncovered in Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, and delineated by a leadership coaching firm.
I have yet to assemble a library I am truly proud of, or generated pages and pages of easily-referenced quotes and ideas by the world’s greatest thinkers… or even entered college. Today, however, was progress, a step towards my idealized future, where I’m not simply living and learning, but applying such knowledge, and truly benefiting others.
