Jay Simpson: It's going to take a village to change misguided youths' ways
Mar. 1—I had the opportunity to reconnect with a friend who has been raising three children, two being young ladies.
One of the girls was a victim of gun violence that transpired over the summer.
This struck a nerve personally now that I have a daughter of my own.
I immediately got a weird feeling in my stomach just trying to put myself in her shoes.
I couldn't even imagine getting a phone call telling me my baby girl was shot.
It doesn't matter if the injury was non-life-threatening; it's the mere thought.
A few more inches up or down, left or right, and things could have turned out much differently.
I thank God that she lived.
She was actually a student of mine when I served as a student engagement advocate at Urbana High School.
She was always in a good mood and just a great person overall.
She was shot by young men who are also good people at heart; they have just been brainwashed by their environments.
In many cases, social media and entertainers raise the younger generation more so than parents, exposing them to glorified violence and nonsense that's not real.
They don't understand that the people they look up to are usually not really living what they're portraying; it's all a front for views and attention.
In my eyes, that's weak — people knowingly sending the message that drugs, violence and money are the way to go when they themselves are rich and not living that life themselves.
It makes me sick that people won't keep it real with these young kids.
I could go on and on about my feelings for how easily influenced the youth are, but it's not their fault.
We were all young once upon a time; we've all been influenced by something or someone, some way or another.
It's going to really take a village to have any chance of changing this.
We need to come together and brainstorm ways to do it.
We need more leaders to get out and speak up, specifically ones who look familiar and can relate to the youth on a different level.
