We are the forgotten, the kids society brush aside because of where we live. We are the ones who stay in our group, safe in our own little shell that we share with very few others. At least that's what you see. What outsiders see when they look in is destruction. Young lives engulfed in pain that can only be washed away by one more smoke or one more drink. They see a group of teens who have nothing. I would know. I was once one of them.

  It's tricky to see past your own view. Being able to look at things from a perspective other than your own is a learned skill. Sometimes looking at only your life is a kind of coping mechanism: A way of not seeing how the world really is and all the pain that comes along with knowing. I guess that's why they say ignorance is bliss. It was like this for me. I was of course happy with living in my own little world of relative perfection, not knowing what this place around me was like. And most importantly, judging anything that I didn't understand.

   I could say I was lucky. I didn't remember the times of going without, or being in between houses. But this was where my problem lay. I was used to having an abundance, so when I saw others that seemed like they did not have as much, I put a label on them. That is who I was. I was that girl who went to My City Youth Center expecting that I was going to be a light to the kids that came from a bad neighborhood. That somehow I would help them and be a good example at this place that was a safe haven to so many. But I was so wrong.

   I just looked around one day and saw them for who they were. I have not other way to describe it other than breathtaking. They were not their parents, they were not their mistakes, they were not what they smoked, or who they hung out with, or where they grew up. They were just them. They are compassionate,and loving, and examples to those who were younger than them. They didn't need my help. I was the one who needed their help to change my mindset. Because of them I learned not to judge and how to accept people. No longer am I an outsider looking in with judging eyes, rather a friend who has been adopted despite my obvious flaws.

   So we are not the forgotten, we are not the outcasts, we are not alone. We have each others backs through thick and thin. We are a family, and that's how it should be.