My Youth To Youth Summer Prevention Conference Experience
Aron Silverstre, Goffstown High School
You would not think that a 4 day trip can change your perspective on how you view culture, but at Youth to Youth my view point changed. This trip was important to me because I learned not to judge a book by its cover.
When you’re in a room with new people, you start making ideas about who they are, but after a while you get to know them and figure out why they are who they are. Everyone I knew coming into this experience, I didn’t see or talk to in the 4 days at Bryant College, for the most part. That’s because every teen that came was separated into family groups of 10-15 people we’d never met. I was in group 26 out of 41, and I can say I have never been so thankful for being in a room of strangers. The family group part of Youth to Youth was the highlight of this event for me. Not only did you get to meet new people, but create relationships with these people. My group was vary quiet at the beginning, but on the last day we couldn’t stop laughing for no reason! And this is important because what Youth to Youth showed was not how to make a plan on how to stop a drug flow in an area, but instead create an atmosphere where people can talk to each other openly and talk about what the other can improve on. In short, we built social skills.
Youth to Youth put us in a situation where we knew no one, in a group where bonding took place, and friendships grew. In these family groups we talk about what what we’re thinking of, and how the day was going, along with fun group games and exercises. So being put in this situation, I learned how to talk to somebody I might not think to talk to, and learn how to bond with them. As a leader, this is important because to get people to trust in you to speak for them, you must be willing to open yourself up and understand why they have a different view point.
I would like to thank the people who gave us the scholarship funds to go to this eye opening experience, (including Making’ It Happen, GHS, and Crispin’s House Coalition for Youth). And everyone who came along on the trip down to Rhode Island, because even though we didn’t all get to talk to each other a lot while there, it was fun getting to know you guys more! And a big thanks to Kristie Curtis for bringing us on this experience!
