For you, a thousand times over!

The other volunteers and staff that I've met so far are lovely and cover all ages. I think this is probably quite refreshing for the youths because they can talk to adults in an informal, friendly way that they may not be used to at all. In fact, the majority of contact with adults may be a result of challenging/antisocial behaviour and thus they'd probably always associate adults with punishment and negativity.

I talked to quite a few teenagers today and at first found it quite challenging as the young people that go to the drop-in centre are worlds apart from me and the life I have had. At first I was quite overwhelmed and wasn't sure how to approach them, or indeed if they wanted to be approached by me. The more time I spent there, however, I became much more relaxed and in turn a couple of other teens did open up to me. It was interesting to observe, actually, the body language of the people (volunteers, too) in the room. Typically, at first, teens are quite 'closed' in that their arms and legs are crossed, they act like they're "hard" (for want of a better word) and like they own the place. But by the end of an hour or so, they're much more open, starting conversations with volunteers and building relationships with other teens. The transformation is rather subtle but also quite heart-warming. It was pointed out to me in my first interview that for the most part, not much progress will be made with individuals on a short-term basis. In other words, it is unrealistic to think that I'll be "making such a difference" and that every second will be "really rewarding", as I presume others have expected from offering their help. I think this goes without saying, however, I believe that the ones that do make the effort to come to the centre are already making progress. For every person that makes it to the centre; 20 teenagers probably never will. So little by little, I think the community centre is definitely making a difference in the lives of youths in Macclesfield.

The other volunteers at the end of the session said that I managed to engage well with the teens and I genuinely seemed interested in how they feel about certain issues in their respective lives. I thought about it and I actually am interested. You hear on the news about 'troubled teens' getting suspended from schools; having run-ins with the law, and having teenage pregnancies etc. but until now I never would have understood these issues from their perspective.

My heart went out to a group of 15-16 year old girls I saw today (one of which was pregnant and another had a 1-year-old) as they expressed that they are just bored and have no money. A couple of them had had jobs, but from what I could gather I doubt they were appropriately stimulating or interesting enough for them to hold them down long enough. I don't blame them for not having jobs, to be honest. I can't exactly talk can I? I've seen advertisements for 'cleaners wanted' and I'm not jumping to the phone to apply for them... I got thinking about it and if I hadn't have gone to university, I don't know what I'd be doing at home (and I would be at home as I wouldn't have a loan or any money to live on my own). I couldn't think of any suggestions for them at all. So since I've been home I've been looking on the 'net for art, drama or jewellery design classes etc. that are cheap and that maybe I could introduce them to. It may sound silly but I think it'd give them a) something to do, and b) a sense of achievement. I'm certainly going to keep my eyes and ears peeled for such services in the area to pass on.

All in all, I had a really good time. My CRB check is in progress and I start official training soon. In the meantime, I want to make myself available to the service as much as they want me in order to learn as much as I can about the young people using the service and also the services on offer to them so I can help them out wherever I can to the best of my ability. In the future I can also undertake training and qualifications for free under the charity (for example in counselling skills) that I am looking forward to too. I feel like I'm actually doing something now. All the skills I've learned can finally be applied and put to some, however little, use. And so far, I am really enjoying it!