Verbally abusing a child
Teasing a child unnecessarily
Exposing a child to pornographic acts or literature
Touching a child where he/she doesn't want to be touched
Forcing a child to touch you
Breaking down the self-confidence of a child
Hitting or hurting a child - often to relieve your own frustrations
Manipulating a child
Not taking care of a child by not providing basic needs
Using a child as a servant
Not listening to a child
Neglecting emotional needs of a child
Hitting and ridiculing a child at school
Neglecting a child's medical needs
Neglecting a child's educational needs
Leaving a child without supervision
Who I'd like to meet:
I am a CASA volunteer for the northeast Georgia area. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate and what it means is there are volunteers nationwide that speak for the children in court. The goal is that no child is forgotten or lost in the shuffle of paperwork. To quote from www.nationalcasa.org:
"CASA is the only volunteer organization that empowers everyday citizens as appointed members of the court. In an overburdened social welfare system, abused and neglected children often slip through the cracks among hundreds of current cases. CASA volunteers change that. Appointed by judges, CASA volunteers typically handle just one case at a time—and commit to staying on that case until the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. While others may come and go, CASA volunteers provide that one constant that children need in order to thrive."
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please copy and paste this link in your browser: http://www.nationalcasa.org and there will be a little box to put your zip code in to find a location near you.
When we have dreams in life and know where we want to go, we must have the strength and determination to reach our destination. There will be those in our lives who try to discourage us from accomplishing our goals in life, but we have to stay strong and overcome the obstacles standing in our way. It doesn't matter what they say; what matters is that we believe in what we are doing and in ourselves. Life is too short to sit around wasting time. We have to take those chances and those risks because those opportunities that we have won't always be there. Therefore we need to venture out and go through the open doors that wait for us. Nothing in life comes easy but the reward is knowing that by continuing to work hard, we were able to achieve our dreams and that we never stopped believing in our mission in life. Making a difference and making a change has to start with us because nobody else can live our lives for us. With hope, determination, courage, and faith, we can get the life we've always wanted. As long as we can envision our dreams and our future, then we can create it, turning those dreams into a reality. We only get one life to live so we might as well make the most of it.
A few things in life to remember: after the storm the sun always shines again, always follow your heart because you can never go wrong when you do, take chances in life to say how you feel and do what you want because opportunities only present themselves once in a lifetime sometimes, the people that you love and care about hold close to your heart and never let them go because you never know how long you will have them in your life for, the future does not have to reflect the past, it's never too late to live the life you want, even though you may start out on one road in life it's okay to find yourself on another path that leads you to better things, make sure to tell your friends and loved ones how much you love and appreciate them every single day. Most of all, know that you are an extraordinary person in life doing extraordinary things in life and that your story of your survival alone is inspiring, motivating, and encouraging to so many others out there. You never know who's life you have touched and made a difference in.
