What key experiences made a difference for you?

The first day, the youth met as a group and participated in a monument tour. I will admit, I was uncomfortable to speak with them due to the fact that I came from the west coast and I knew very little of their culture. However, because I had little knowledge of their culture and had the drive to take advantage of the event, I decided to let my guard down and interact throughout the three days I was there. My findings were truly a life-changing experience. I was able to feel the hurt, the challenges, the obstacles, and the way they have been treated at home — instances that ranged from not being able to obtain enough money to eat, keep a job due to their economy, all the way to their situations simply not allowing success to be feasible in their community for whatever reason. On the contrary, two people I met had the same aspirations as I of becoming police officers — our lifelong dream. In fact, this man and woman were also involved with the Explorer program and, although greatly different, we were able to network and share ideas and customs to see how they would fit in our posts. Yet having people of the complete opposite spectrums in our group which, again, consisted of people who made unfortunate mistakes in their lives and others who want to be police officers, we were able to come to an understanding of each other's perspectives. This, inevitably, made the bond and connection between each other powerful.

In addition, not only was I able to see and learn about other cultures, but I was also able to connect with these youth simply due to age. Most, if not all, would agree with what one had to say. For example, we shared that belief that youth act differently in the presence of adults and sometimes have the fear of stating the truth that would lead to disappointment or anger from adult. We also agreed that adults sometimes show little to no interest in our voice because society considers us as "kids" or "immature."