Live, Learn & Teach

Pao Kia Yang
Graduate
Osborn University High School

You see cars pulling over to the far right of the road as the siren of a police car echoes behind them. Everyday these law enforcement officers put their lives at risk to save the people who they service; us. They get up for work knowing that on a regular day like this may be their last. They work hard to make sure we get the help and safety we need. Putting your life at risk is like pushing yourself near the edge of the cliff, yet some police officers do it anyway. It is their passion to do this for a good cause, while others do it for pride.
There is a difference between pride and passion. Passion is when you do something that’ll benefit others and yourself, while pride is something you do to benefit only yourself. Pride and passion is as different as putting your life at risk of being a police officer and a gang member. Gangs have increased rapidly from streets to inside schools. Children from as young as 12 have signed their own life to such pride of joining gangs. They kill and die over the pettiest thing. Some of which survived, are being haunted by memories of sin or by the decease one’s family and friends. Is it worth dying over a bag of weed that’ll soon sink in and destroy your body’s system? Is it worth killing someone over a chain that you soon found out was not made out of real gold? Is it worth throwing away your future by spending life in prison?
We youth need to come to a realization of throwing away our lives over things like this. You need to be able to look after yourself and think outside of the box. You want to be protected? Well, don’t depend on your gang to be your shield. They won’t help you pay for the money you owe someone else, nor would they help you overcome fear of defining your path. Learn to protect yourself by not exposing yourself to such pity. When you learn to do so, it’ll open many opportunities to your younger siblings, peers and anyone else who follows. Take advantage of positive things that are handed to you, such as education. Further your future, because life is too short and too precious to die for making stupid decisions. Live, learn and teach…to the fullest.