Lauren's Defining Moment
So like many of you, when I was thinking of choosing my defining moment, I had a bit of a challenge. I'm only sixteen, and there are still some days when I don't even know who I am. But when I think of what defines us I think of what we are passionate about. Whether it be dance experience, to camp, or the inability to grow a mustache our passions define and determine who we are.
My passion is youth, mind you I realize I'm a youth myself but bare with me here. The youth I work with range from grade 6-8, and I first started working with youth in the summer of grade nine. The week long camp consisted of going to water parks and amusement parks.
One of the things I learned was that working with youth can have its challenges, it took me about two seconds to realize that when your group of kids said "Let's go people jumping!", meant that they would be jumping over people tanning-which would lead to me rushing over and apologizing. Mind you, working with youth has its perks too. I really learned how to communicate with kids. I remember being a kid myself, and knowing when an adult was speaking to you whether they were phony or not. Whether they actually cared, and of course I care about the kids I work with. But it's talking to them on that level of respect where I built great relationships.
That has now led to me being a consistent youth leader at my church, each week I meet up with my group of grade six girls and its amazing to see how beneficial working with them is. I tell them how much they are valued and worth, and simply loved. Being a youth leader has become a huge part of who I am, and a major defining moment in my life.
Lauren, the youth at your church are lucky to have such a caring leader. It is so important for young people to have role models. I also like how you have realized that you also have learned from the young people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your method of finding your defining moment. It's very effective to look first at what defines us, and then try to trace that back to a certain moment in our lives. Furthermore, its that much easier to reflect on how that moment has changed you if you start from the present.
ReplyDeleteAre you wanting to continue on in a career working with kids? I know from my experience with kids, (I volunteered at a day camp for 4-6 year old kids) I realized I'm not crazy about working with them, I developed great relationships, and met some pretty extraordinary kids, but I just can't handle them. Mind you I was with much younger kids than you, and I'm sure the experience would be different if I was with older ones. What's your view on working with younger kids? (in the 4-6 range)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Sarah, in all honesty young kids are just not where I am at. I really care about building relationships and when it comes down to it playing with a four year old is different from having a one on one talk with an eighth grader. I'm really awkward when it comes to young kids because its all about pretend and toys, and I am not really geared to that. Working with older kids is definitely a different experience. More like having a mentor based relationship.
DeleteThis post about you working with the youth from your church reminds me of before I moved when I would help out every Wednesday with a youth group at church for kids in grades 4 - 7. There was a lot of crazy moments and I was surprised to see how much energy kids have forgetting that I used to be that energetic at one point.
ReplyDeleteListening to your presentation, it was evident that you are very passionate about helping out youth, which is a great thing! I agree with your whole being able to tell when an adult is just putting on "show" and not actually really caring about the kids. I teach gymnastics to a group of 9-11 year old boys where I work and I too connect with the kids and I have also created great relationships with them. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYour passion for helping other out in anyway you can is really inspiring to others and i'm sure multiple children have learnt lots from you. Its clear that you enjoy being around children and want to pursue a future in being a mentor for people, you're already succeeding in that. It's amazing that you're so willing to help others in anyway, and your defining moment has impacted you in a really positive way!
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