jekyllandhyde

Come this Thanksgiving, I'll be moving to Austin, Texas after receiving an offer to work at the Austin Children's Shelter, a home for boys and girls who have been taken away from their parents by the state. This is certainly going to be a challenge -- much more so than my previous job at the shelter, amongst adults -- because many of these kids are going to be hurt, angry, and aggressive. I'll be working predominantly with boys aged 8-18.

I was hesitant to accept this job, but as I was considering it I read an article about a 15 year-old girl who committed suicide by jumping in front of a train after enduring endless harassment for having sex with four boys at a party, much of the harassment instigated by those same four boys. She was a foster child who had lost both parents, but oddly enough it wasn't her story that really struck me, it was the story of the four boys. I've noticed an uptick in anti-woman attitudes lately, such as thinking that women are either sluts or prudes and nothing in between and hence are ripe for ostracizing. I for one believe that behavior like that is not inherent but is learned. Oftentimes, men develop this hostility toward women as a result of poor relationships with their own mothers; I imagine many of the boys I'll be working with will be in a similar situation, by virtue of their very presence in the shelter. This sort of attitude is something I want to keep watch over while I'm working there and address as needed. I'm certainly not under any illusions that I can change or "save" anyone, but maybe I can help head off certain anti-woman attitudes and thinking before they have time to fully develop.

I really hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew with this one, but to me it almost feels like I have a moral obligation to try, simply because I know it's something that I could have a better chance to have success with than many other people. So, I'm going to give it a shot. I'll certainly miss Philly, though; I've enjoyed my time here and the people I've met. Of course, my parents still live here, so I'll no doubt be back to visit on several occasions.

And just so we're all clear, there will be many posts on here from me about crazy stories and happenings at this job, some of which will be amazing and funny and others of which will no doubt be depressing. So if you don't want to read that sort of thing, you might just want to de-friend me now, haha. Anyway, sorry for the novel, all this has just been on my mind for a while.