Will You be a Hero?

Hero: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

I found that skit online and I found it to be amazing for many different reasons. After spending almost three years on a school campus and seeing what takes place I am always reminded of some things that we must teach our youth. We seem so amazed when we hear about a teen killing another teen. We act surprised when we hear about a teen committing suicide. Or the one that bothers me the most is when we think that that this is just a girl issue when teen suicide statistics show differences in the ways boys and girls handle suicide. While girls think about attempted suicide about twice as much as boys, boys are actually four times more likely than girls to actually die by killing themselves.

Why does this take place and what can we do about it? I believe it takes place for many different reasons and I believe if all made a choice to treat people in a different way things would change. So many times in life we sit back and watch students or other people be treated like they are some type of animal and we do nothing. I am guilty of that is many ways. Also when we sit down and really look at what we do to the boys now I believe that we might understand why we have the problems we have. It has been amazing to me of how many of our boys have been told lies about who they have to be to be a man! Lets be honest we have started treating boys like they can handle anything and they just need man up. Then we wonder why around thirty they have so many social problem. One lesson that I have done a school is the power of words. I asked the kids to write down one work the the kids hated to be called. With the boys it was amazing to me, it was simple....Worthless and Gay. Those two words attack their manhood more then any other words. But lets be honest we allow students to throw those words around.

So I really believe we need to take the time and ask ourselves do really ask our youth to live as a hero and do we really spend the time investing into our youth both boys and girls but understanding that there are some differences but both really need the same thing. They need love, compassion, and Grace.

Another way to be a hero is to take care of the single mothers raising kids. Most people don't know but one of my ministries is picking up a kid everyday from practice. The mother is a single mother and doesn't have a car. I do this for him but my heart has really gone after her as well. She is also a widow after losing her husband in a car wreck when my student was 8 years old. It's amazing the things we talk about.

Mentoring is more then likely the biggest acts that a person can do. It is the hardest at the same time. Building a relationship with a at-risk kid can be rewarding and heartbreaking all in the same day. I had the chance to go into a classroom of a class that worked with at-risk freshman. I started mentoring a few students in different ways. They use words that my grandmother would die over and the smoke whatever they can find. But what makes it all worth it is a student that was in that class last year who got what we were trying to pour into him. He keeps coming back and I will spend spring break with him in New York City on a Mission Trip because the teacher is taking him along. It works and it does make a difference.

“Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don't know how far we can go” Bernard Malamud

I believe in order for you and I to learn me must become a hero but allow God to do the life changing. If we go into it believing that we can change a person then we have missed the point. But if we go in building a relationship and trying our best to better someone but also allow them to better us well we will see a change.

Last semester I just grew tired and grumpy for whatever reason. When Christmas came around I was happy and I needed a break away from students to search myself and find out what was going on with me. After I did that I felt the need to call a student and tell him I was sorry. It was amazing to me his response. He was okay with it and understood and then started telling me his struggles. Being a hero is easy, it being who God made you. and going with that. We all have a different calling and a different gift.

So reach out to someone today but try to keep reaching out the same person and see a life change by just spending time with them.