The Bus Ride

I was once on a bus trip coming up from the magic valley. It was about 10: pm, and the bus was mostly empty in the back. I deliberately picked the last seat at the rear of the bus, because you can stretch out and go to sleep. Well I was just getting comfortable, when I saw a young Chicano working his way up from the front of the bus. I tried to ignore him but to no avail. So I decided to humor the young man and see what nonsense he was up to. We started talking and he began telling me about his future plans.

He told me that after he got back to Austin, he was going to join a gang, start gang banging and doing hard drugs. I just quietly listened as he told me about his plans. When he finished speaking, I replied. "Okay if you are going to do all the things you say, you are, then let me tell you what’s in store for you." He listened as I told him what to expect. "You can expect lots of trouble, problems and danger; you can also expect to end up addicted to hard drugs and alcohol, as well as possibly end up in prison, crippled, or even dead." Oh and by the way I told him; you better forget about having cool friends, because on the bad side of life, there are no real friends!

When the bus arrived in Austin, we both got off. By this time he was really quiet and thinking hard. He thanked me and then we went our separate ways. About a year later when I was walking down South Congress Ave on the south side of Austin, a young guy walked up to me and said, "Hey you remember me?" I said, "Not really." He said, “don’t you remember you once gave a young guy some advice on a bus ride?" "Oh yea, I remember you now, how are you doing?"  He said, “I’m doing great, I'm in high school, making A's, and when I finish there I am going to college." "Wow, that is great," I said, before going our separate ways for the final time.

With this said, this brand new blog is what helping teens achieve success is all about. But it is also much more than just helping young Hispanic youth become wise. The advice and teachings upon achieving success in life is available to all the youth of the world, so that they can reap for themselves and their loved ones, all the best that life has to offer!

Copyright 2011 Frank S.
All Rights Reserved