It's no secret that I far from loved high school. Along with feeling bookish, awkward, and not fitting into any world, I couldn't relate to the other kids and thought they were all after the non-important stuff. For years, I felt that and projected it to most high schoolers...until these past few days.
Why the change of heart?
I'm covering a festival put on by UNITY Charity which features youngsters putting their artistic gifts to good use under the mentoring of professionals in the field. The first person I spoke to was 18-year-old beatboxer Aik who blew me away with how articulate and knowledgeable he was; the second, Michie Mee, a multi-talented artist who doesn't dodge her own foibles, but instead uses them to guide kids on the right path; and the last was the founder of the charity, Mike, a guy my age whose dedication for helping out really needs to be emulated more.
All the events I've seen so far have led me to believe that I just can't go around painting every person under 19 with the same brush. There are some amazing and talented kids out there who are doing things I myself can't even fathom of beginning. And that they're doing it at an age where they've got all the other messy teen stuff to deal with is just so heart-warming to see.
Maybe there's hope for humanity yet.
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