The Kid

As a 19-year-old Oklahoman, I have been subject to some crazy stuff in my life. I’m not going to go Emo, and say life is so ugly and whatnot. On the contrary, life is amazing. But that’s not the point of this story. It runs a little deeper than that.

For those that know me, you would say I have an ego the size of my home state of Texas. Some would call me promiscuous and hard-headed. On occasions, I am even referred to as a ruthless bastard. I can live with those tags, although after hearing them long enough, you tend to let it affect you; ergo, call me a bastard, chances are I’ll become a bastard. It’s the way of things. Call someone something, and they are bound to change.

 With this happening however, I have learned more and more about myself. In a sense, I have discovered my limits, or my boundaries…my texture. And for the longest time, I would feel like if I made a positive impact on just one person, I’d have it made. Sure, I have my beautiful baby brothers Sam and Nick. Those two are the loves of my life. But I wanted to impact somebody else.

 A few months ago, I met a 16-year-old kid from Ohio by the name of Stephanie. No, nothing romantic mind you; she’s a good kid. When I first met her, I found this kid to be quite quirky and odd. Of all the catchphrases in the world, you want to know what her signature one is? “SQUEE!” Crazy kid. I met her in a Facebook group of mine called “Man Law”, a spin-off of the commercials of Miller Lite fame. The group is overly populated by beer-drinking, partying individuals, so to find a homebody kid in the group seemed different.

But as I got to talking to her, I found out she was actually a rarity. I say rarity in the sense that kids like her are few and far between, and this is coming from a guy who lives in the center of the Bible Belt. At the age of 16, her primary concern is living according to God’s word. She practices abstinence, doesn’t cuss, and stays away from drugs and alcohol. All of that alone earned my utmost respect and admiration. A kid that chose to stay pure on her own accord…why can’t most teens follow that example?

One night, after an exchange between her and another of the group’s patrons in which I was almost mortified over, I proceeded to take a brotherly stance with her, and proceeded to give her some words of wisdom. When she asked why I cared, I told her, “Because kids like you give people like me hope.” That line floored even me. But it’s true. Kids like her give people like me hope. She says I gave her the push she needed that night, and she proceeded to leave that group, along with several other groups that had bad influences. That night, she decided to strengthen her walk with Christ.

Before that night, I hadn’t really given the name “Jesus Christ” much thought in a long time. Once upon a time, I considered myself a Christian. But then, I sort of dropped off, if that makes sense. It got to the point where I even questioned His very existence. Stephanie changed that, believe or not. When she said that she felt like God was using me to speak to her, that night I went to my on-campus apartment and cried. Since then, I haven’t questioned His existence at all. I hope to someday make that walk, and give my life back to God. When I do it though, I want to be able to give it my all.

Kids like Stephanie, are few and far between. Over the time that I have known her, I have felt a sort of brotherly love, a sort of protective love over the kid. As I said, kids like her give people like me hope. I have learned a few things from her about life believe it or not. For example, life is too short to be pissed off constantly. Also, always have the ability to laugh. Never let anything get you down for long. And above all, enjoy the little things in life. It makes life easier.

~ by josephshelton on October 27, 2007.