Malala Yousafzai is a young girl from Pakistan who was shot in the head in October of 2012. She was shot because she refused to stop attending school and spoke out that other young girls should be allowed to attend as well. I have always been amazed by the tenacity of this seventeen year old girl who beat the odds and survived a horrific crime that was committed against her. Today she still fights for the rights of young girls to attend school. Her recent fight is for the young girls in Nigeria who were abducted from their school and taken captive. Malala has taken it upon herself to help fight for the freedom of these young girls.
Taylor Townsend lives on the south side of Chicago in an area called Englewood. Englewood is considered one of the most violent areas in the Chicago. This young phenomenon has become one of the top up and coming tennis stars. In May 2014 Taylor played in the French Open where she made it to the third round. In spite of the criticism that she has received about her weight, she never allowed it to deter her or stop her game. She continues to strive to be one of the best tennis players of all time.
Kwasi Enin is a recent high school graduate from Long Island, New York who has been accepted to all eight Ivy League Universities, an extremely rare accomplishment is. Talk about beating the odds! Many would say this is impossible, especially for a young African American male. Kwasi will be attending Yale University this fall and his desire is to become a physician.
What’s my point? There is still greatness in our young people. For the past several weeks I have listened to people and how they talk about the violence that is taking place here in Chicago. There is a cry of despair and hopelessness that surrounds our young people, but we can never give up hope for our young people because like it or not they are our future. It is our responsibility as adults to continually encourage all young people to go forward and find their destiny. We must continue to instill that there is greatness inside of them, regardless of their skin color or family background. We must help them not to give up on themselves!
You may not have children of your own but why not take it upon yourself to encourage the kid that bags your groceries or the one who works at your favorite fast food restaurant. How about the young people you see hanging on the corner with nothing to do; they need the most encouragement because they know how society looks at them. Have you ever stopped to talk to them? It may surprise you to find out how intelligent they are. Many of them unfortunley come from broken homes; the family structure is not like it used to be. We have gone from mother and father, to mama, to grandma, to young people raising themselves. I have worked with young girls for the past twenty years and I have seen the decline of the tradional home. I can’t tell you how that decline affects their attitude and self esteem. When a young person lacks self esteem they will do whatever they can to fill that void.
What’s the most important thing to a child? Some might say money, clothes or the latest cell phone, but I would argue that most children are in search of approval. They want approval to know that their okay and good enough just the way they are. When that’s not reinforced by the adults in their lives they go elsewhere to get it… and that usually leads them to a path of destruction.
As we begin a new school year let me encourage you to reach out to a young person that you may or may not know and plant a seed of encouragement. Let them know that you see greatness inside of them and that they have the ability to accomplish great things. Let them know that you accept them just the way they are. The more time you spend with them watering that seed, the more likely they will begin to believe in themselves.
Until next time
Shawntrice
e.
Straight
Straight Talk with
Shawntrice
NEVER Give Up!