Thought for the month:

“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.”

― John Schaar

EDI Thought for the Month

We are in the business of shaping the future. We are all in the process of shaping the future, either consciously or unconsciously. The above quote by John Schaar is not simply a pleasant-sounding aphorism but an insightful reminder of the power we have at all times to affect change.

As DYS staff, we are in the business of helping young people change their future. Our mission is to promote positive youth development. How we engage with our youth, how we see them and how they see us, plays a determinative role in whether we will be successful in this part of DYS’s mission.

What you do every day and how you do it is incredibly impactful. Sometimes it is hard to see that during our day to day. The youth don’t always tell you about how you impact them but they notice.

I recently did a focus group interview with some of our youth and they all had stories to share about how staff positively impact them. The conversations centered around staff being able to see the real youth. Seeing the human being and not their charges or their files.

One of the challenges in seeing the real youth is that they all wear a mask. While we did not ask them about wearing a mask, each of them brought up that they put on a mask to the world. I believe every youth and every person, wants to be seen for their true self and not the mask they feel forced to show the world. When youth feel seen, they open themselves to possibilities and that is when the magic of change can happen.

One day after work I was shopping at a clothing store and wearing my DYS lanyard and a young lady working in the store came up to me to tell me that she had been in DYS and that it changed her life. One of my colleagues at CDHS was at the mechanic shop when a mechanic there told her about how his experience at DYS turned his life around. Another colleague told me about a new staff who came to work at DYS because he was previously in DYS and now wanted to give back.

The work we do changes lives. The work we do shapes the future of every youth we come in contact with. That work also changes us. There is danger that this work can build up our emotional calluses and scars so that we turn off our empathy and no longer try to see the real person behind the mask. However, when we get to see the youth take off their masks and open up; when we see them begin to internalize and manifest the things we try to instill in them through programming, education, and counseling then those calluses get a little smoother. We walk a little more lightly and are inspired to try a little harder to reach the next youth.

We won’t always have the impact that we would like to on every youth, but every single day, every single encounter is another opportunity to impact the youth in our care. To show them by holding them accountable, by believing that they can have successful futures, by treating them with dignity and respect, by being a role model; we can help a youth to have the confidence, the skills, and the knowledge to build a better future for themselves and their families. It all begins with you but thankfully it doesn’t stay there. Your impact can reverberate throughout many lives for decades to come. So remember that you are impactful and that you get to shape not only your future but those of the youth in our care.