going back to what i talked about the other day...the group of kids that just left (they were here for a three day program) were from a rural area in north carolina. very different from the suburb kids - they were respectful and polite. and really fun. little attitude - and they were 8th graders!

i was talking to one of the teachers as the kids were loading the buses. i commented on how good the kids were. he agreed, but also said 'this trip is a really big deal for them. for some this is as far as they will ever go. i've even seen a few that had full scholorships to colleges and didn't go because they didn't want to leave their families. but it's changing, and the factory and farming and tobacco jobs that used to be pretty much guarenteed aren't there any more. these kids are in a tough situation'.

yet they were happy, positive, willing to participate...whereas some (maybe even many) of the kids whose parents drive them here in their cadillac escalade because they don't want their kid to have to ride on the school bus who will almost certainly go to college, and not have to worry about *too* much have attitudes, are 'too good' for everything, call each other 'stupid' and 'dumb' when one makes a mistake, talk back to me...

i am very thankful for the opportunities that i have been given - and that i have chosen to take them. just before they left, i was talking to the group of kids i had been working with. i asked them somethings they had learned. many of them said 'that if something is intimidating or scary, i still need to give it a try, because it will be better to have tried.'

wow. i was so happy to hear this from them. when i had been talking to them about my backpacking trip, driving across country, etc., one said, 'it's like it's a cool story - only it's real!' i encouraged them to take those chances, act on opportunities, risk failing...i am so fortunate to have this job. :)