As my activity of Outside Enrichment, I chose to participate in the Georgetown Ballers program. This program pairs up with the New Beginnings Youth Development Center in order to work with juvenile males and aid in their rehabilitation into society. Many of the teens that we worked with struggled with a multitude of issues, whether they be family issues, legal issues, or even sometimes simply issues with themselves. We visited the center on Sunday, October 6th and began the session by playing basketball with the kids, as a way to break the ice between the participants while playing a sport we all love. Afterward, we then split into groups and had a variety of discussions concerning goals and the highly important skill of goal-setting. I learned a lot about the members of my group and the widely different environments that they were raised in. This experience opened my eyes to the overwhelming effects of one’s environment on their behavior.
The main focus of our discussions for the week was to introduce the idea of goal-setting to the group and to then make our own sets of goals for either the near or far future. It was extremely impactful when we shared these goals with the groups. Despite being the same age, we lived very separate lifestyles and therefore possessed completely different sets of goals. My fellow leaders and I demonstrated to the group that goal-setting is an essential part of the lives of all people. In order to better ourselves and grow as humans, we need to place goals for ourselves. No matter the size, these goals keep us from remaining stagnant in our ways and teach us more about the world and about ourselves. However, while sharing with the group, it was particularly difficult for me to hear some of the goals of my peers, as it was hard to grasp how challenging their lives had been. In my mind, some of these tasks would almost seem like failures in my own life, due to my narrow-minded perception of life. Yet for these kids, these goals were the first step to changing their lives for the better. These conversations directly related to our discussion in class concerning gratitude. Experiencing first hand the lives of these teenage boys and how much harder their childhoods had been throughout their lives has helped me realize just how fortunate I am to be in the place I am. Reflecting on my thoughts and feelings from my college application process, I never was actually planning on attending Georgetown. It was simply another college on my list that I liked enough to apply to but had never seriously considered to be one of my favorites. Yet, now attending this amazing school has demonstrated just how integral Georgetown will be in shaping my future for the good. I have made it my own new goal, and added to my personal list from our group discussion, to be grateful for each and every day of my life, and to fully grasp how fortunate I was to be born in extremely stable conditions and to have had several opportunities that not many other people my age have been exposed to. Furthermore, the bonds I built with some of these teens in a single day has shown me the true power of relationships. Simply spending time with them and learning about their lives had given them a sense of nurturing which they were not accustomed to. Once they grew comfortable with my presence, it was beyond heartwarming to hear them making sure that we were coming back in the future to reconnect. I was relieved that our program had impacted them as much as it had impacted me. Overall, it was a very transformative experience that re-emphasized the importance of gratitude and relationships in the context of flourishing.
