This January I started working full time with this group called the Student Recovery Program. It's a pilot program for at-risk high school boys in the public high school right by my house. I've worked very part-time with these students for over a year now, but this is my (and their) first attempt at being employed regularly with the program.
These boys teach me so much every day. They show me new ways that people can have their hearts broken, and new ways that joy can break through. It is a thrill to see a boy look at me square in the eyes, jaw set in determination, and say, "Tammi, I am going to graduate." With all of the boundaries before him, I know his path to graduation is much more difficult than others in more stable environments, but I look him back, and say with 100% belief, "Yes, you absolutely are."
I've watched students become homeless. I've watched them mourn the deaths of friends. I've seen them struggle with anger towards a discriminatory teacher. But these kids are resilient, and they truly don't give up easily.
I have to learn how to communicate with them, how to encourage and correct, how to focus on the positive while improving the negative. I've also had to deal with being unable to fix the broken parts of their lives - that is so entirely tough. And I've had to learn to let them deal with their consequences, which is also tough. It's been a huge learning curve, and it's had its fair share of heartache. But it's also had a lot of joy.
I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.