The times I worked closely with youth I observed these
facets:
- Kids want to be heard; discussions engaged; ideas respected
- Adults mostly discount youth conversation; admittedly their language often appears to be encoded, but actually it is only an idiom more up to date than our own!
- Youth judgments of adults is quick and often off the mark
- Young people teach me more than I teach them!
Having said this, here are some quotes that may spark some
fresh thought.
First, this item:
“You spend years wishing your
parents would get off your back, only to
realize they’re the only ones who ever really had your back.” ~Unknown
Sometimes several decades pass before we truly understand
this truth. Often we have heaped unworthy blame on our parents! I just hope our kids understand the why and
how we decided on our actions directed toward them over the years. Not always
understood at the time; but later do they get it?
Second, a sad reminder:
“40%
of homeless youth are LGBT
The #1 reason they’re on the streets is family
rejection.”
~Shared
by Pridepac.org
It is hard for me to accept how harsh some parents are in
viewing their gay offspring. The harshness speaks of their disappointment no
doubt; but what it really says about the parents is their total
misunderstanding of the issue. Gay kids are the way they are not by choice.
They are not rebelling. They are not intentionally being difficult. They are
not trying to get at their parents. No.
They are trying to make sense of a world that has become vastly over
complicated because of social norms, self understanding, and sexual drives they
simply do not understand.
Third, Nelson Mandela shared this statement with the world:
“Do not judge me by my successes,
judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
That goes triple for gay kids who are trying to understand
their lives. Watch them grow. Watch their struggle and emergent maturity
because of the struggles successfully survived. Help them. Give them a hand!
Fourth, Pridepac.org provides this thoughtful quote:
“If
Harry Potter taught us anything…
It’s that no one deserves to live in the
closet.”
As Harry broke out of the closet bedroom under the stairs of
his uncle’s home, we watched Harry grow into maturity and effectiveness. Same
goes for each of us as we break out of our cocoons. In so many ways we
construct many cocoons during our life and each one needs to be shed for us to
grow. We can do this alone; but with the help of family and friends we make progress
much quicker.
Gay or straight our personal journeys are our own to live.
They may seem impossible at times, but Anthony Robbins insists:
“The
only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”
Words well remembered. We each have more strength and
resilience than we give ourselves credit.
December 10, 2013
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