During my senior year of college, I interned at a Juvenile Detention Center - a facility for juveniles, aged 9-17, who committed felonies and misdemeanors and were awaiting a court date or a transfer to another state facility. The Detention Center was a safe environment where juveniles enriched their physical, mental and social skills and the "teachers" (often social work aides) help prepare them for their future. What I didn't know (until after I completed my internship) was that many times parents brought their own kids to the Detention Center - dropping the kids off as if they were take-out food - because they didn't want to be responsible for them.
I remember my first day. I was completely overwhelmed at just the experience of walking into the facility, having to go through four security clearances as cameras watched my every move. And then walking down a hallway, staring at a 9-year-old kid wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, handcuffs, and ankle cuffs. All I could hear were the clinking of the ankle cuff chains as the kid walked past. The sight was just heart-wrenching. Every day, for six months, I witnessed young kids at their very worst. I listened to stories that made my heart ache for days and days. It's tough to see good kids make a small mistake that sets the course of their future. Getting caught for stealing a candy bar because your mother couldn't afford it. Abusing your house arrest because you wanted to go to the library to read a book. Children are supposed to be our future. We're supposed to provide for them with as much as we can and set a foundation for them to live a life worth living.
I met with and talked to kids every week. Asking them about their goals. Listening to their dreams. Feeding them bits of inspiration to get them back on their feet after they leave the Detention Center. What those kids didn't know was that they were my inspiration. To make a difference. To change a life. To change the world. Seeing those kids locked up in that detention center, knowing they had big dreams in life, knowing they have the abilities to make those dreams come true, realizing that some of them don't have the foundation set, made me want to make a difference, somehow, in some way. We all want to be part of a greater good. We all want to feel like our actions are impacting others for the better. I don't want to just make a difference; I want to leave a legacy.
My actions are small, but they're powerful. I know I'm making a small difference in my community through my nonprofit, but my work can only get bigger. I want to do something bigger, something better, something more powerful and rewarding. I want to go to bed at the end of each day, knowing and feeling like I made an impact on someone's life. I want to leave this world knowing my actions will be remembered years after I'm gone.
