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One Mentor’s Tale
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | July 16, 2008
Why I am a Mentor
I met Efrain Vargas yesterday. Efrain is a mentor to a young teen boy. He is 20 years old, engaging and articulate. A soccer scholarship got him to college, where he is now majoring in Psychology. He hopes to become counselor and focus on gangs. Going to college changed Efrain’s life in many ways, but most important he says, it showed him a world beyond his neighborhood in California … and got him away from the gang that was too much a part of his life. When I asked Efraim why he is a mentor, he gave me this essay he has written and told me I could share it here on the blog.
“What is the reason for being a gangster? So we can defend our city, the street where we live, but the city isn’t ours, the street doesn’t belong to us either. Why am I a gang member? Because my parents didn’t have time for me. No, those are just excuses of somebody that is weak and doesn’t know what they want, so they take the easy way out. Eternal days of suffering and having to worry about making it alive by the end of the day. No, I didn’t want that for me. I was one of those lucky young puppets who made it out and was given a second chance to change the world with all those horrible things I saw and did. I am here to make a difference in the lives of all these teen chicanos who did my mistake. It’s my obligation to try and lead them to the right path.” Efraim Vargas
Topics: Mentor Stories |
July 17th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Thanks so much, Efrain, for sharing your story and time with the project!