Applying Ethos

I've always hated when people ask me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Not only is it a loaded question, but to be honest, I was never really quite sure what exactly I wanted to be. 

Up until fifth grade, I went to your typical middle-class suburban school. All the mothers stayed at home, all the girls wore Limited Too, and I had an afro and an independent, full-time working mom. Needless to say I never really fit in. When those kids were asked what they wanted to be, they answered with the inspiring dancer or professional baseball player, but this didn't really faze them- they didn't have to worry, they could be whatever they wanted. The variables weren’t going to be a hardship for them; they were comfortable. 

From fifth grade on, I went to an inner-city magnet school, in which I finally felt at home. There was diversity, there was blending, and most importantly, there was acceptance. But when we, as 13 year olds, had to submit to the yearbook our answer to the question of what we wanted to be when we grew up, we answered with the same dreamy answers as the fifth graders I previously mentioned. Except fast forward to now, two years later, when a significant amount of those kids, the ones with the big dreams, have gotten into situations that took their dreams and hid them out of sight. The kids who two years ago I saw as the future president, or next leader of reform, or idol basketball player, have lost their sights due to lack of stimulation and encouragement, and also opportunity. 

If there were more programs for inner-city youths that provided an outlet, a support system, and guidance (and maybe was fun, too), less of us would have been derailed by the temptations of being curious and exposed. Having seen both sides of the spectrum (the side where if you were sidetracked, that it was okay, because there were people and opportunities to get you out of it, and the side which is less pardoning, where one slip can send you down into a rut you can’t get out of), I realized that it’s not the (obvious) money that gets you to where you want to be, although it does help, but rather the exposure to positive influence and encouragement, which is something we need to take responsibility for. We as communities need to establish programs to stimulate our youth and push them into the right direction. But in order to do that, we need to ask ourselves what do we want to be when we grow up, because those kids who day by day loosen just a little more of the grasp on their dreams are the future, and they deserve an equal playing field.