Project Idea

     Lately, teenagers have become more likely to be involved in drugs and other criminal like behavior. This is why a system called youth peer court is starting to become more and more prevalent throughout the states. Through this system I am able to use my personal opinion and collaborate with my peers on a jury where we can help kids involved in various crimes. I wish to gain a deeper connection with the respondents and help them acknowledge their wrong doing. However, some obstacles may appear in this process.

     My goal is to reach out to kids my own age and understand where they are coming from and why they get into abusing substances, vandalizing, aggressive behavior, etc. For example, in peer court we ask them questions based off of their offense and questions to generally get to know them better. This is extremely crucial because their offense usually gives us an idea of how we can help them and what dispositions to assign them. Questions on their personality help us assign dispositions based off of their interests which can make the experience more enjoyable and less of a punishment. With this said, my goal is to work with my peers in getting to know and understand where kids are coming from when they act in this manner and ways to prevent it.

     Changing someone's feelings towards something they may be addicted to and/or love in a bad sense is a hard thing to do and I expect there to be obstacles. For example, peer court only works with kids for a short period of time until they have finished their assignments/community service/ special projects. In other words after they finish, it is solely up to them to change their behavior and act upon their mistakes. This is why I hope to give them projects based on their interests and make it more of an experience rather than a dreadful punishment. With that said, I cannot make choices for someone else but I will certainly try to influence the right one.

     For my project, I wanted a strong, leader type role model to help guide me through and understand my process. For this I am thinking about my dad because of his personal experience in "fighting crime" and his leader type character. His honest and good advice will shift me in the right direction and encourage me to think more about this project. I also know for a fact that he will push me into reaching my goals and setting even higher ones.

     In conclusion, although obstacles are apparent and difficulties will arise, I hope to pull through and help kids my age struggling with substance abuse and criminal behavior. I hope to reveal to them their full potential and lead them to their own success. I will do so through the motivation of my mentor and by leading with a servant's heart.