Super Stars

So during the summer I have been working as an RA and have been taking classes. But this month I'm not taking a class and instead got a summer job working for the Super Stars program.

The Super Stars are kids who live in at-risk areas of Baldwin county. What the mentors do is look after them in the afternoons. For the summer at least, this just means we go throw the football around and go swimming. Not a bad gig, right?

Well the first day I was there, within the first five minutes a fist fight broke out between five of the kids. I was not expecting this at all, and thankfully Chris was there and broke it up quick. Afterward he looked at me and laughed, "Didn't expect that, huh?" I quickly learned that this is a normal occurrence for the Super Star kids. But though they regularly get in trouble, they really are good kids. They just need a little guidance.

Now, when I say they live in the at-risk areas Baldwin county, what I really mean is they live in the very worst part of the county. Probably the worst place to live I've seen. They've told us about drive-by shootings and drug dealers like it's nothing special. Three of the kids came back one day and told us about a time when they found a bag of crack on the ground.

I don't really think it matters who you are, but if you grow up in a place like that, I think you're bound to have a troubled childhood. That's why I really enjoy working with these kids. For most of the summer I've been talking to people who've traveled abroad and I've felt like I haven't really done anything special this summer. But now I feel like I'm actually doing something with my time. And no matter how bad they might act, I look forward to going to Super Stars the next day.

One of the kids, Triston, is 12 and he is probably the coolest one of the bunch. Though he's not the oldest, he seems to be the maturest. As we talked he's told me about gangs and drugs and such that goes on, and how pretty much all of the kids get involved with it in middle school. I guess if you're surrounded with things like that, then you would mature faster. But even though he has pressure to do all these things, he constantly tells me how much he hates it. It's things like that which make the Super Stars program important to me.

So tomorrow when I go into work, I'll be looking forward to hanging out with the kids. I'll look forward to it because for every day I hang out with them, it's one less day they're vulnerable to the ways of drug dealers and gangsters.