Be the change

Today I had the opportunity to take part in my second Challenge Day. If you are not familiar with this organization, check them out at www.challengeday.org.

I arrived at Rochester High School around 7:30am today and left shortly after 3:00pm. I spent most of that time in a gym with two leaders, a few dozen adults, and over one hundred high school students. It was a day of encouragement, sharing, and healing.

One of the mottoes of Challenge Day is "Be the change you want to see." This quote from Gandhi is used to encourage students to consider the environment in their school and step up to make a change.

Today I witnessed students begin to answer that challenge. Lives were changed before my eyes.

For those who feel hopeless for the future, you need to witness a Challenge Day. I was reminded that there is hope, but it must be accompanied by healing. Today's students face more expectations, threats, and stress than any previous generation. For many students, survival is a way of life. With high divorce rates, alcohol and drug use by many parents, disconnected families where each family member retreats to their own room, and drive-by parenting, it is no wonder that students are crying out for help through sexual promiscuity, their own drug and alcohol use, violence, cutting, and a variety of other means.

The challenge isn't just for students. Adults need to be the change they want to see as well. If adults are willing to be transparent and provide a safe place where teens can do the same, we can create an environment where our young people can find healing. It will require sacrifice. We will need to sacrifice some of our time. We will need to reorganize our priorities. It calls us to think about what really matters.

We can't sit on the sidelines and hope for things to change. We need to get in the trenches and be willing to get dirty. Then we can be the change we want to see.

shine!
Jason