2003 Essay Contest Winner

The National Runaway Switchboard asked youth across America to write about what it takes to empower their generation and stem the urge to runaway.

Tenise Taylor
Age 16
Louisburg, NC
Louisburg High School

A man once said: "No person has ever stood so tall as when he stooped to help a child." Many of today's youth are deprived of the miniscule things that matter the most. They feel neglected and outcast by their friends, family and world. They are often misunderstood and many feel overwhelmed by the many challenges that confront them. By showing the youth that they do matter through positive influence, we as a society can help mold and shape the lives of young people into beautiful sculptures.

Webster's Dictionary defines challenge as a summons that is often threatening, provocative or stimulating. Today, youth in America are faced with numerous challenges daily. Some feel that they cannot conquer or overcome the challenges that they face; others feel that they do not have the inner strength to help them conquer the challenge. Therefore, youth must be given guidance and shown ways that will help them overcome challenges. How can we help youth find their inner strength and help them to survive? Providing youth with counselors and confidantes to talk to about their challenges and ways to overcome them may help many youth. By teaching the youth to turn their "can'ts" into "cans" can also aid youth in their challenges. Engendering high self-esteem into our youth will also show them that they have the knowledge and power to overcome challenges. When youth are shown that they are somebody, this will bring about a feeling of worth and pride, which will give them a proliferation of confidence.

Statistics show that one in seven children will run away from home before the age of eighteen. We as Americans can help decrease this number by sharing and instilling positive messages in our youth. Confidence in one's own self is extremely important. Our youth need to be told that they are loved, appreciated and valued. Youth in America lack confidence in themselves. By lacking confidence, they begin to see themselves as failures and as nobodies. In turn, this low self-confidence will cause many youth to become a menace to society; however, this does not have to happen. When a youth does well in athletics, academics, or recreational activities, we can compliment them, pat them on the back and tell them what a great job they did. By the youth receiving these laudatory remarks, they will feel good about themselves and will continue to do more good deeds. Many youth feel that they are not being listened to or heard. Therefore, we need to sit down with our young people and listen to what they have to say. Parents need to turn the TV off, take a few minutes from their busy schedule and devote some uninterrupted time to listen to their children. This means that we need to listen sincerely and with our whole hearts to what our youth have to say.

Role models can also be a positive influence on our youth. We need to view those who do well in society and help serve mankind as true role models. We do not need to view superstars as role models just because they are famous. All superstars are not role models. True role models will show youth that they are somebody in this world and that they do matter. Role models who set good examples for the youth can change our youth for the better.

Therefore, it is vital that we treat our youth with respect, listen to them and be a positive influence on them. We should not dwell on the negative so much, but rather on the positive things in our youth. The youth are America's future; they are tomorrow's leaders. The success of our country in maintaining greatness will be determined by how well we have taught our youth to overcome life's challenges.