The Last Post

I like to think I've helped kids my age and in turn this program has really helped me. Most of these kids deserve a second chance and I feel like we have given it to them for their own benefit. Their is so much potential in our youth that has yet to be discovered because it so far underground. Nowadays teenagers turn to drugs for fun, for depression, for sadness, for happiness, for anything. I think there will always be a problem with drugs and that my goal will be a constant battle for me and for others. But there still are good kids and ones that have learned from their mistakes and strive to do better. There are still some that can be helped and that are worth helping.. They just need the push. I have seen so many loved ones fall down the road of drugs that it has left me with a painful memory embedded into my brain. Helping other kids is my way of clearing the awful memories and making newer, happier ones. So in some terms I have reached my goal and others no. I have reached it in the sense of self improvement and helping the kids that will let themselves be helped. I have failed in doing that to every kid because that is something that just cannot be done. It is up to future generations to help themselves and realized they have a problem or an addiction. The reason teenagers are so repetitive in bad behavior is because they are care free and they don't think anything will hurt them.. But it's really only a matter of time. I constantly hear the regrets of adults in what they did as a kid and that they would do it all differently. I have taken that advice to heart but some would rather live for now than for later. Sometimes human nature is not always the best kind of nature.. It is very naive and unaware.

I will continue with peer court because I think it is such a neat program and it is such an experience to be part of. I have volunteered to go to the youth peer court summit which is basically all of the youth courts in California coming together and meeting each other, sharing ideas, etc. I was involved in the summit last year as well and met so many cool people (some that were respondents and became apart of the courts and some who volunteered like me). This was probably the best experience I've ever had in my life because of all the interesting people I met. We all shared the same idea about our youth but our courts and cultures were so different. One of my best friends I met through summit and we talk to this day still and looking forward to seeing each other again this year. We are going to Malibu down in Southern California. What we do in summit is just sign up for a couple classes about drugs abuse, bullying, sex offenders, etc and then go to performances and meetings to talk about them. It is really interesting and then of course there is social time where you hang out with the other county's and talk. Extremely fun.

Well I hope you guys enjoyed reading my blogs and hearing about this sort of thing. It's a sad thing, our youth. It needs a little more attention because they are the future parents, employees, etc of this world. We don't want them all to be messed up kids AND adults.

How I got started with peer court

     It all started when my brother told me he saw a fire on a trail in our backyard. Like any other little kid we freaked out and thought the house was going to burn down. We could hear and see the flames; it was actually a pretty big fire. Luckily my brother told my dad and my dad called 911. A big fireman kept asking me and my brother questions on how we discovered the fire. I told the man that I was not the one who saw it but my brother was. He then went to my brother and focused mainly on him and no one else. He asked him all sorts of questions because he thought the story of him just walking along and finding a fire seemed a little fishy. Finally he squeezed the truth from my brother and found out that my brother had accidentally started the fire.

     So... What does this have to do with peer court? Well, my brother was only 14 or 15 and the fire he created was only an accident so they decided to put him in peer court. They didn't think he deserved to be fined and then put into juvenile hall for an accident. My family had never heard of peer court before and were intrigued by the idea of it and so was I. One of my brothers dispositions was to serve three nights as a juror on future cases and I decided to tag along. I was super scared at first but warmed up to the idea of it and the people there. I became quite fond of it. Of course my dad did have to push me to do it a little because I was very hesitant. I was scared because I didn't know what to expect.

     Peer court was one of the best decisions I ever made because I met a lot of cool people through the program and it looks good for colleges. I pushed my boundaries a little and it worked out well for me.

Why is peer court so important?

     Many respondents tend to find peer court annoying and ridiculous as do some adults. But what they don't realize is that without this program his or her child would be in way worse situations and face harsher consequences.  We give kids a chance to learn from their mistakes and not to be sent somewhere where they would be given punishment and no real solution to the problem.

     Kids that end up finding peer court annoying usually have the same reactions. The first reaction we get is nervousness or immediate annoyance; second is warming up to the atmosphere and getting a little more comfortable; third is arrogance. This is not the case for all kids but it is definitely something that needs to be changed. Without peer court or if they were over 18 they would go to jail (depending on the crime committed). So, to me, this sounds like something any person would be grateful for.

     Imagine if your kid was sent to a jail or prison... These kinds of places are no place for a kid. Every one is bound to make a mistake in their life so this should not mean kids should be sent to jail because they tried weed for the first time or stole a pack of gum. Yes, these are crimes but kids do all sorts of thing when pressured. This does not excuse the fact that it is illegal and wrong but they should learn from their experience, not throw years of their life away right off the bat. This is why peer court is so special, it teaches kids and gets them to experience better things instead of the bad ones.

   With this in mind, peer court should be considered a gift to the youth that offend. They are given such an opportunity to turn their life around and make something better of themselves. We just hope they take the opportunity and do something good of it.

Reflection

     In my case, my progress is up to the choices of the respondents (the teens committing the crimes). I can merely suggest classes and projects to help them. Once they are finished with peer court it is up to them to acknowledge their wrong doing and change their behavior. However, to improve their choices my goal once again is to ask questions to get to know them better and assign classes or community service to help them find their selves and drive them away from drugs/alcohol/bad behavior/etc.

     Some changes I think I should act upon to help reach my goal would be to pay more attention to some of the answers of these kids. Most of the time the jury recognizes that the main problem is that these kids don't have anyone in their life to look up to. They're getting drugs or alcohol within their own household or their parents behavior rubs off on them. One of the many dispositions we assign is an adult mentor; someone they can talk to about their problems and hopefully gain good and healthy advice from.

     My mentor and dad, Jeff is a huge help with my progress and overall support of the project. His knowledge of court systems and people in general is a huge help to me. Some background knowledge on how I got into peer court and volunteering started through my father. He encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and be apart of something far from what I was used to. This helped me out a lot because I tend to be hesitant in doing things I'm not familiar with.

     Overall, I think my progress in this project is successful and worth the time and effort. I've seen friends and close ones fall into the path of bad behavior and its affected everything about them and changed them for the worst. This is my overall motivation to help other teenagers; I don't want to see them end up like the people I love ended up.