A national call to action, and youths and adults were listening
By Kellie Cochrane
In February, I participated in the Youth Begins with You conference that was held in Orlando by the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance and the Annie E. Casey Fellows. In addition to the obvious perks of my leaving snowy Battle Creek, Michigan for a three-day event at balmy Sea World, it was a chance for me to better the outlook of the youth in America.
The program was a call to action, a gathering of 18 young people and 22 adults with one common goal: creating a two-year media campaign that would reflect a more positive image of today's youth. As I type that goal, I cannot help but smile because it is the epitome of the phrase "easier said than done."
I attended this conference with my best friend, Brooke Bruinekool, and we arrived in Florida with plenty of time to marvel at temperatures above freezing before we joined everyone for our first introduction and dinner. The program chairman, Yvonne Howze, Ph.D., embodied the event's concept with her first sentence, which was something along the lines of, "All we ever hear about is teen pregnancy, drugs, violence, and we're tired of it. We want to do something to change that." This would be our task for the remainder of the weekend.
The youths at the program ranged from age 8 to their early 20s, and the adults ranged to retirement age. Their hometowns were equally scattered ranging from St. Augustine, Orlando and Tallahassee in Florida to Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Los Angeles and Chicago. As Brooke and I mingled we were overwhelmed with the diversity. There were whites like us as well as people of African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian and mixed race heritage.
After shaking hands, the youths retreated upstairs to become better acquainted. Ethnicity, location, age and interests were so varied it was hard to imagine how we'd ever reach a consensus. Once we began a group discussion, however, we realized what an asset everyone's differences were. Everybody faced different challenges and had different viewpoints, but we also had several key issues that we all felt similarly about.
Over the next few days we met with the adults and used small groups to discuss issues between youth and adults, and we presented our thoughts to the larger group. We heard from some of the adults about what they are already doing to aid youths, and the only word I can come up with to describe these portions is "amazing." It opened my eyes to just how aware some adults are to what is really going on with young people.
However, more inspiring than the awareness was the enthusiasm. All of the youth were eager to speak their minds and be honest about the issues we face and also to explain our end of youth-adult relationships. The adults were willing to listen, not only honestly but with great respect. Every adult there regarded each youth as a valued voice. Some also spoke freely about discomfort with the idea of the youth being equal to adults.
On the final day, we discussed feeling disappointed about although we had created a lot of ideas, we didn't select one media campaign to promote. It was at that moment that I realized how much we had accomplished. We had created an area in which the youth and adults could speak freely and openly. We had eliminated idealism and really faced the facts: And the facts stood solidly even on the last day.
Relationships between young people and adults are difficult to forge and maintain. However, we were proof that it could happen. I believe it was best summed up when someone said that if we had simply videotaped the entire weekend, we could show it to the world. This call to action was exactly what America needs, the youth and the adults working together to create a safe and beneficial environment for its young people to prosper in by using each other as allies in our school systems, communities, and families.
So, I challenge youths and adults alike to ask themselves two major questions: Am I being heard? Am I listening?
Kellie Cochran is a high school junior in Battle Creek, Michigan.
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