This past week I was in class during a visit from the Health Information Project (HIP) organization – a group whose mission is to inform us teenagers on the dangers we face. I confess I didn’t pay attention to most of what the HIP representatives said, but one part shocked me.
The people giving the lecture read the results of an anonymous poll they conducted in the classroom, and I was shocked. Two kids in my classroom had been homeless at one point in their lives. I was completely mystified by this. I quickly came to the realization that could easily become me if my mother didn’t work as hard as she did.
That’s when I had my epiphany. I contribute nothing to society. There are children in my grade, in my class even (who don’t have homes) and while they are sweltering and struggling in the blistering South Florida heat, I am wandering aimlessly about my house pondering if I want to watch TV or do homework (homework rarely wins). I proudly call myself a resident of Miami – Dade County when I don’t contribute anything towards the advancement of it as a city or community.
I want to become more involved but I don’t know how. I have this inflated sense of self-worth when I don’t do anything. I think this has become a major issue among teens in the 21st century. We are spoiled and we aren’t disciplined. We are all given trophies so that none of us feel left out. We think the world revolves around us. There are so many problems in this world facing children. Children that happened to be unlucky when getting assigned a role in life. Children facing poverty, famine, war, and natural disasters destroying their homes. The American people have been gifted with freedom of speech, an awesome power that we use frivolously. We read about the Kardashians rather than climate change. Children are left naïve, in the dark – powerless, when they are the most creative and open-minded thinkers among the population.
From now on I am going to do everything I can to be active in my community and incite change. I encourage everyone reading this to do the same. Donate, volunteer, post on social media. Utilize every tool you have in your arsenal. Something as small as recycling makes an impact. It takes one person to plant an idea and several to make the idea blossom into an action.
