"Children are the future." I have never been able to understand this quote. Sure, it's obvious. In the future they will be the adults and the ones running the world. What I never really got was why people made such a big deal about these four words strung together. Then I began my observing this nation's youth.

At the age of 12, I started volunteering at a local preschool. It was then that I discovered my passion for working with young children. When I say young, I mean ages three months to 8 years old. I am now 20 and have spent every summer working at the same preschool with the same ages (mainly 2 year olds though). Now, I know much more about children than others my age. I can change a diaper in 30 seconds flat. I hold most tricks and tips when trying to calm a crying child. I have seen the effects of "conscious discipline."

When you observe children in their "natural" habitat, you will notice that they tend to start out with a blank slate so to speak. They will help one another, share toys, and even hold hands. It isn't until they witness another child's harsh actions that they partake in those antics. Children learn the habits from the world around them. Even when they do something harmful to friends, it's easy to see that they don't do these actions out of malice. They do it because they are mimicking and think it's what they should do.

Society seems to shape the youth into what they become. I believe that we are all born with a blank slate. One is not born inherently good or evil. People learn from the world around them and that shapes them into the people they become. Now this doesn't mean that someone with the world's sweetest and most loving parents will grow up to spend their weekends with the homeless. This does mean, however, that one way or another these people had a reason to become the way they are. More often than not there is a factor that springs from the world around them, it can even include psychological problems that run in their genes.

Working with children is something I think everyone should try at one point in their lives. It reminds one what he or she should work toward everyday. It reminds everyone that the future is here and it's our job to make sure it's a good one. It also keeps one humble. It reminds one that there is good in the world and we all need to try hard to keep that good inside someone and not do something that can shed the light away from another human. This all tells us that kindness is the best way to get a bright future and lead our world to peace.