psychological dysfunction. lets see, there was pinochipaul (or rumplestiltspaul) the compulsive liar, psycho-seth, and narcissistic stephen. there are other more minor characters in the line-up, but these are definitely the highlights. new test of psychological soundness, am i your friend? if you said yes, chances are you need help.so now i have some new men in my life. the boys at stonewall jackson youth development center. thats right, incarcerated, teenage boys. part of my job is doing hiv/aids prevention programming, education, tutoring, and mentoring with these little darlings. some of them i have grown pretty attached to already. they just crave positive attention. they just want someone to listen to them as they vent what they're thinking about. it makes me feel needed (insert my psychosis of choice) and they seem to genuinely appreciate the time to talk. if anyone ever wants to volunteer or just hang out with "my boys" you're definitely welcome. thanks to tlmc for pointing out that what i thought was being helpful was really just an extension of own disturbing relationship patterning.
5 comments:
Eek, so all of us that call you friend have some type of psychological dysfunction?
I was SO EXCITED that you mentioned the boys that I had to transition from my lurking status and say this:
YAY FOR STONEWALL! I adore those boys, although have gotten many an sneer for saying so. I was always amazed by how much a little encouragement meant to them, and, even if they didn't directly say it, how much they appreciated our time there. I always felt like a proud parent or something with their successes and very sad when I ran across names on the DOC website...People forget they're kids who deperately need positive attention and real role models in their lives.
I'm so glad you love it :)
I figure each of us has some sort of neurosis or psychological issues. Some choose to package it up all nice-like while others stick it right out there on the front porch; I find the latter are much more fun :)
I had a firsthand experience today about how kids want attention and to feel good about themselves. I must admit teenagers scare me. Kudos to those of you working with that group. They probably represent the age group that is most neglected, and your boys with a rough past most of all.
yeah, so, I have really been working through my psychosis.... really....
yay for "lauren hill" commenting on my blog! :)
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