Challenges of Inner-City Youth: A Deeper Reflection
Shane Shue expands on his first blog by addressing solutions to problems faced by inner-city youth.
In my first blog, I introduced some of the challenges faced by youth in Jamaican inner-city communities. I often find myself asking God why things have to be this way. But now I realize I’m not alone in feeling this way—many of us are going through these phases. If we can accept life for what it is, we’ll understand that there are only three chances in life:
A chance to live longer
A chance to see things clearly
A chance to gain knowledge and understanding of life itself
I see life differently now, thanks to the support of those around me, both near and far. Even though I don’t have any qualifications and haven’t worked for a while, I’m still thankful because the impact and teachings I’ve received are changing me.
Many inner-city youths, like me, would love another opportunity to accomplish our goals. However, many of us lack confidence in what we do, and those around us don’t motivate us to do the right things. If we aren’t firm in ourselves, we will always be confused and easily manipulated. There were people who tried to motivate us, but most of us ignored them—only a few listened. I regret not listening from the start, but the greatest thing is that some of us have come to this realization and would love to get all the help we can to accomplish something meaningful in this life.
Breaking Free from Negative Traits
We want to rid ourselves of the following traits:
Ignorance
Violence
Envy
Selfishness
Impatience
Disobedience
Dishonesty
Laziness
Lack of cooperation
Gossiping (talking too much)
When inner-city youth see no hope, there’s a strong tendency toward dependency.
Why Do Youth Prefer Dependency?
Many youths prefer dependency because they lack education. I’ve researched this, and the results are troubling. When we lack education, we miss out on many of the opportunities life has to offer. Education is the key to success. With education, we become independent; without it, we remain dependent—always waiting for a handout. Dependency leads to low self-esteem. Many of us who didn’t finish school, if we were streetwise, would view life differently. Otherwise, lacking understanding and not trying or willing to make a change, we become a stumbling block.
Many youths demand things, expecting others to do everything for them. Some of us grow up with respect, while others don’t. A youth who is too soft will let people take advantage of him. There are those who take advantage of others, lacking humility, simplicity, curiosity, honesty, and more. Why? Because of a lack of knowledge. Without knowledge, we don’t strive for progress, and there will be no change. Remember—you can bring a donkey to the river, but you can’t force it to drink. What we don’t like for ourselves, we shouldn’t do to others. What goes around comes around. Many of us treat people in ways we wouldn’t want to be treated, even though we know it’s wrong.
The Importance of Role Models
How many youths realize that the life they’re living is not right? Are they willing to make a change? Children live what they learn. If parents, mentors, or guardians don’t do their job correctly, the youth will become a danger to society. How can we not have any pride inside us? Why do we prefer to be dependent? How many of us are willing to be independent? How many more youths have to die before we come together and take a stand for what is right? Only a few of us are willing.
When youths are dependent, they become illiterate. When they’re illiterate and lack education, they become a menace to society. One of the worst examples is the use of ‘old iron’ (guns). How can someone feel good about taking a life? We know it’s wrong, yet we still do it. When we should be finding time to do the right thing, we end up finding time to do the wrong thing.
When I really observe life, I believe we were born dependent. It’s our parents, friends, schools, and colleges that should be there to teach us the principles of life. But how many youths are willing to learn? Then again, if the older generations aren’t setting good examples and the younger generation isn’t willing to learn, we all stay dependent. What about our grandparents? Did they pass on useful principles and disciplines that should give us good governance? As a young man, I believed that everything I wished for in life would come to pass. But if you sit and wait every day, you fail.
Learning and Growing
I was once lost because I lacked respect, self-esteem, honesty, humility, and more. Dependent people are always trying to belittle each other. Is it because they feel a power over the ones they belittle, or because they lack the knowledge to see how destructive this is?
Every day I live, I learn. I always hear this saying:
“The greatest weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”
In other words, the only thing we control is ourselves, and most of the time we can’t even do that. But that’s no reason to allow someone else to belittle or oppress us. This weight we all carry will always be met with opposition. The only thing we can use to conquer our opponent is love. Where there is love, there is life. Knowing ourselves is the beginning of wisdom.
"There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough."
Shane Shue was one of the first participants in the Young Adult Circle (YAC) program. His experiences and insights help shape this program so Jalawelo can help support young adults like Shane.