By Angela O.
As I sit down to write my first column, I have so many thoughts about what I could or should say. Before I was named co-editor of The Family Times, I would think about what I would write for this column if I ever got the job. I would spend time wondering if anyone would read it and who, if anyone, would reply with their input.
Some would call me crazy for thinking that far into the future in such great detail, especially since most people believe “what you plan never works out anyway.”
I was recently flipping through a global regents review book when I came across a quote I found interesting, something I could identify with. The quote was by an 18th century philosopher named Jean Jacques Rousseau. In his book The Social Contract, he said, “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.”
Wow!
If you think about it, that sentence is so true and so sad. Men and women everywhere in the United States are free, according to the Constitution, but so many things enslave us.
According to Erin Koskovich, an NBC reporter, 3.2 million girls 14 to 19 years old are infected with an STD. These girls aren’t even women yet, but are stuck with STDs. The most unfortunate are the number of them are stuck with the STDs for the rest of their lives, because there is not yet a cure. So many young girls are in the chains of older men, gangs, magazine expectations, drugs, and hate for themselves; I was one of them.
Before I came to The Family Foundation School, I had already become part of the six percent of young girls in a gang and I was on my way to becoming one of that 3.2 million. I was desperate for acceptance from older men. I was so tempted by drugs, alcohol, boys, anything that would keep my mind off of my troublesome peer relationships that I would seek out older men. I wanted to be happy so bad that I was willing to push away my family for these things I thought would bring me happiness. I put up a tough girl, gangster mask to make myself seem better to people who only wanted to hurt me.
My only hope was the decision that my parents made in June of 2007, which sent me here. By some divine intervention, I accepted the challenge without kicking and screaming.
Looking back on my past, I realize what an opportunity I’ve been given, and how blessed I am. Like those other young girls, I still don’t know who I am yet. One thing I do know is that I am a co-editor of a high school newspaper. I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I look forward to getting responses from you. I leave you with these questions: What are some things you see worth writing about? What do you see as important?
The sad thing is there are still so many young girls who don’t have the help I have and may never get it.
According to Sue Scheff, six percent of all gang members are females and 39 percent of all gangs have female members. Their motives for wanting to belong in gangs or in relationships with older men are all the same.
Girls that are seeking these things believe that they can find protection and love. By dating an older man in a gang they feel cool, like they belong to something important and are protected. These girls usually don’t feel important and are willing to do anything to gain acceptance.
If you are among the young women that I speak of in this column, know that you are not alone and there is hope. You will find true happiness in time, just trust that in time it will come.
