If we could change Charlotte...

A few weeks ago, Ayana Dixon, a behavior modification technician at the Right Choices Program held on J.T. Williams' campus, told me she was holding an essay contest with her students. She wanted to know how they would change Charlotte. Here is what second-place winner Lorena Marquez, a sophomore, and third-place winner Dabria Spurgeon, a freshman, had to say (edited for brevity and clarity):

Lorena Marquez essay:
No human or animal is perfect, nor any city or state. But there are things that we could do to improve Charlotte. If I had the money and power I wouldn’t promise to make Charlotte the best place to live, but I would make it more managed and organized then it is now.

... There is so much poverty, so many deaths, and too many uneducated teenagers in the streets. On January 26, 2011 there were a total of 12,908 homeless people counted in the state of North Carolina. Out of that whole population there were a total of 2,987 homeless children. If I had the power to change poverty in Charlotte I would build a facility that would give them a place to live and eat. I would buy enough beds to give each a place to rest comfortably instead of having them sleep out in the streets ...

Another change I would work for is educating high school drop outs, giving them a second chance to make a better decision for their future. Honestly, I would abolish the law stating that teenagers can drop out at the age of 16. I feel like that’s an encouragement to drop out. 30,688 N.C. inmates have been recorded to be high school dropouts. In North Carolina 83 students drop out EACH DAY! We are the future of the United States and with few people earning a good education, how many doctors will we have to help cure the sick? How many professional dentists will clean our teeth? ...


Dabria Spurgeon essay: The city where you can’t go a mile without seeing Jordan’s ... where you have New Jack, TTG, and Taylor Gang living all in one community ... where people kill over money, shoes, clothes and family ...

Teenagers in the generation before us could stay outside all day as long as they made it home before the street lights came on ... Our generation can’t even leave the doors unlocked when we leave home. We’ve learned to entertain ourselves at home and communicate through the new forms of media and technology. We have to make a change, take a chance. But how can a teenager like me change the whole city of Charlotte?

Nobody knows, but it’s at least worth a try. I’m only one ... but the change begins with me. I won’t follow the road others take! ...

I can ... have a voice in my community, school, and city (telling) them we need to make a change in our everyday lives.

One more thing I can do is write a compassionate letter to Mr. Obama addressing the things that go on in every state and making a difference by giving children something productive to do with their time. ... I will try to make the neighborhoods I once lived in better and bigger for the next generation ...

America is in great turmoil and it’s up to me and you to change that ... Don’t wait until something tragic happens, start now!

If I could change Charlotte...

A few weeks ago, Ayana Dixon, a behavior modification technician at the Right Choices Program held on J.T. Williams' campus, told me she was holding an essay contest for her students. She wanted to know how they would change Charlotte. Here is what winner Shekinah Williams, a junior, had to say (edited for brevity and clarity):

If I could change Charlotte, I would try my best to get all the negativity out of Charlotte, because you have to start somewhere. I would let teens and children know you don’t have to be persuaded into doing what you know is wrong. I would let them know dare to be different; instead of trying to fit in, be yourself. I would let them know that we are the next generation and if we don’t stand up for what we believe is right, then there’s no telling what will happen to our generation.

Charlotte will be a better place if parents young and old raise their kids up to have respect for others. If all the negative people that are older become more positive and show the new generation coming up how to act and how to carry themselves, then we would follow.

The problem is people live by what they were raised on. I hear the saying “If my mama do it then I can do it,” or “This is how I was raised, this is all I know.” Comments like this get passed from generation from generation because that’s all some people know. Even though many were raised a certain way, they still know wrong from right. So we as teens and adults need to stand up for what we believe regardless of our background.

If I could change Charlotte, I would try and help those who are going through the struggle. I would encourage young boys and girls my age that they can make it and be whatever they want to be in life. I would take young teens and kids out of town to educational places so they can see what they can do or what they can become.

It’s a lot of teens who have been put down all their life so they feel the streets is the way to go. So they turn to drugs, sex, skipping school to get away from all the things they’re going through. There are a lot of teens trying to bring other teens down, because they’re in a bad situation. So peer pressure is one of the highest things going up in society today. Teens need to learn how to “LEAD” and not follow. If it’s more positive people in Charlotte, all the negative people will say “Oh they’re doing good and on the right track. Let me follow them.”

I once went through a phase with ... running away, and doing illegal things, and in the outcome I didn’t get anywhere but in jail and falling behind in school. I feel, yes, some of the things I was doing was because of peer pressure and thinking I had to do and be like everyone else.

I had to realize I’m my own person and when I got locked up and failing grades, I was all by myself, just me, and none of those friends who I was out there with was anywhere to be found. So now today I can say I learned the hard way.

I feel I’m already helping change Charlotte for the better, because (with) everything I’ve been through, I can tell young girls: Don’t go the way I went; it’s only going to lead you to destruction. Boys, money, partying, acting out, jail, drugs, and fighting, all those things won’t get you anywhere in life. Do the right thing, because there were some people who didn’t have a chance to turn their life around for the better.

Upcoming:
Continue to read the Young Achievers blog. On Friday, we will post excerpts from the second- and third-place winners in Dixon's essay contest.