For a teen headed down the wrong path, caring will go along way.Byline: BUILDING YOUTH ASSETS By Tina Bonaduce For The Register-Guard I've been told that there are turning points in your life. A big one for me was just a few months short of the end of my eighth-grade year. My mother always has had high expectations of me and my sisters. Unfortunately I wasn't doing very well, and certainly not my best. I started smoking and didn't really care about a lot. Hence, I got suspended sus·pend v. sus·pend·ed, sus·pend·ing, sus·pends v.tr. 1. To bar for a period from a privilege, office, or position, usually as a punishment: suspend a student from school. , got kicked out of my house and moved in with my father. My wake-up call finally came when I got suspended again, this time only a few months into my freshman year of high school. That was when I truly realized I wasn't doing well. When I finally broke down and told my mother about my second suspension, she came and helped me pack my stuff and I moved back in with her, ready to change. My turning point came when I enrolled in the OutDoor High School at Northwest Youth Corps. This is an alternative school in Eugene that has a focus on conservation and experiential ex·pe·ri·en·tial adj. Relating to or derived from experience. ex·pe  ri·en learning.
Every other week, I am with my crew either hiking hiking Walking, often among hills or mountains, as recreational sport. It represents an activity in its own right and also figures in backpacking, camping, hunting, mountaineering, and orienteering. and learning field science or working. When I say working, I mean physical labor - removing invasive species
Invasive species is a phrase with many definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. or building, restoring and graveling grav·el n. 1. An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles. 2. Pathology The sandlike granular material of urinary calculi. tr.v. trails. We really get out there and work for our community. Plus, we can graduate and receive a standard high school diploma A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. . What really helps me learn about prioritizing my responsibilities is all the support I get - not only from my mother and family, but from my teachers and staff at the school. My mother and my teachers always encourage me to do well and be a leader for those who might need one. It's a caring community at my school and at home: If you ask for help, people will give it to you. All the people who are helping me have stuck with me through thick and thin, motivated mo·ti·vate tr.v. mo·ti·vat·ed, mo·ti·vat·ing, mo·ti·vates To provide with an incentive; move to action; impel. mo me to do well in school and have really shown me the importance of my education, my future, and my life. Support from family and school has allowed me to set goals for my education and my future. Such support is an example of what is known as the "40 developmental assets." Assets are positive experiences and qualities that have the power to influence young people to make good choices, and to help them become caring, responsible adults. I've learned that it's worth having goals, and from having goals you get experiences and memories. Young people who feel connected to a caring family and to good things happening in the community have powerful assets. In the same way, if young people feel they have some control over things that happen to them, they gain other types of assets and are more likely to thrive in adolescence adolescence, time of life from onset of puberty to full adulthood. The exact period of adolescence, which varies from person to person, falls approximately between the ages 12 and 20 and encompasses both physiological and psychological changes. and beyond. Since finding myself, I have become the editor of the yearbook and the president of the OutDoor High School. I'm on the honor roll honor roll n. A list of names of people worthy of honor, especially: a. A list of students who have earned high grades during a specified period. b. A list of people who have served in the armed forces. . And I'm a role model - which is the best feeling of all, and means I can be an asset for others. Having assets - such as a community of people and a caring environment - has taught me many things and has helped me to get to where I am today. I've also learned to take responsibility and initiative, to value honesty, to be myself, to be independent and to have high self-esteem. I've learned from other people's mistakes, and am still learning from my own. Tina Bonaduce is a student at the OutDoor High School. This is the 24th in a biweekly bi·week·ly adj. 1. Happening every two weeks. 2. Happening twice a week; semiweekly. n. pl. bi·week·lies A publication issued every two weeks. adv. 1. Every two weeks. series of columns about developing youth assets. To learn more about the 40 developmental assets, go to www.search-institute.org or www.ci.eugene .or.us/rec. Information about the OutDoor High School at Northwest Youth Corps can be found at www.northwestyouthcorps.org. |
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