It was Martin Luther King Jr. who once said, “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
From reading and reflecting upon this quote all I can say is WOW! This quote inspires me. I may only be seventeen years old, but I want to have, ” a heart full of grace. And a soul generated by love.” I want to reach out to youth not only in Riverside County where I live, but all around the state of California. I want to advocate for at risk youth. By at-risk, I mean kids who are victims of the streets; kids who are forced to be responsible for themselves when really there should be someone responsible for taking care of them. I want to let them know that there are people out in this world who do care for them and who do love them, even when the world around them shuts them out completely. I want to be known as the girl who brings a smile to their faces, the girl that believes in them even when they do not believe in themselves. I want to be the one person who sees the positive things about them, rather than the negative.
But, what does it mean to serve? Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the word ‘serve’ as, “to do services for; aid; help.”
Next, one might ask, “‘But what does it mean to aid, to help?!?”
I believe that to aid and to help means providing them with the necessary resources that will connect them with the programs that they need in order to survive.
I wish that there were more shelters where I live devoted to helping get youth off of the streets.
My hope is that one day not only in Riverside County, but also in the state of California, that there would be less and less youth on the streets. My dream is that youth would be able to confide in and find the necessary resources that they need to become healthy, confident, and successful.
Who’s with me?!?
–Talia
April 8th, 2010 at 8:46 am
I have to say that this blog touched me. If we all take a stand on helping youth in need and thought about more about others than ourselves, we can make a difference
April 20th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Talia, I’m sooo proud of you. Our church, Missio Dei, here in Riverside has just decided to address this very issue. I’ve given them your name as an advocate.
In His Service,
MzIz