Many of my close friends and family will know that 2013 was not a good year for me, for a whole number of reasons which ultimately meant I spent most of the year suffering from depression - the dark side of Bipolar Disorder. Thankfully, I have a very supportive network of friends and family who need to be thanked for dragging me kicking and screaming through the last few months. They know who they are, and without them I would probably still be sat drunk outside the bowling alley crying into my black patent stilettos because I could not work out how to walk down the steps... Well at least now I can look back and laugh at myself!
2013 was not all bad, I did have some life changing experiences and some massive highlights - including going to the World Scout Moot in Canada and spending three weeks living with some truly lovely people. I also took my Special Needs group on a residential for the first time, and it was tough and challenging but it was truly incredible and has changed my whole relationship with the group and I now value and respect them even more. I have been truly blessed to have been able to work with some incredible young people last year, and have had some really good success stories of supporting young people into education and training and as a result I had the pleasure of getting my hair cut by a young man I used to support - he even remembered how I take my coffee and brought me chocolates. On the subject of young people, one of my highlights of 2013 was being successful in applying for a postgraduate course at the YMCA. People who know me well will appreciate how difficult it has been for me to access postgraduate studies and that all of my career choices in the last few years have been crushed at some stage, so this is a massive deal for me and something I have really wanted to do. At the risk of sounding just a little too religious (for some of my friends at least), I really feel that I have been called to Youth Work and the course I am studying is one of the most amazing things in my life at the moment, someone once told me that if they cut me open I would bleed yellow and have "youth worker" written in my veins.
At the moment I am reading a book by Kerry Young, called "The Art of Youth Work". I have to say that I love this book, and everything I read resonates within me. I have particularly fallen in love with the Ethics of Youth Work, and the argument that Youth Work is an exercise in moral philosophy. Reading about ethics in Youth Work, there is a strong school of thought that suggests in order to be an effective practitioner, the youth worker should have strong morals and act in such a manner that projects these. If the youth worker does not have their own set of values and beliefs which they hold in high esteem, then it could be said that they are unable to support young people to have values and morals. The idea of the professional passing on their beliefs to the young person is not what I am getting at, as that is morally unethical in my opinion. The role of the youth worker is to consider their own beliefs and support young people to explore and develop their own philosophical agenda. In order to support young people to develop this element of themselves, the youth worker must act as a role model and be able to show right from wrong and good from evil, and support young people to explore this for themselves.
I recently attended the annual Christingle service at St John's in Fareham, where I have been going to church for a number of years. I love the Christingle, not least because they give you a flame to play with (once a scout, always a scout), but because it is a good way to remind ourselves what it is all about. In the service, one phrase I caught hold of was "Be the light", and I figured that there are two ways of producing light, either through being the light or through being a reflection of the light.
This drew me back to my "Ethics in Youth Work", and the thought that in order to be a positive role model to young people, as a practitioner I have to be acting in a moral and true way. I have to be the light for young people, and light the path for them to take - then pass them the light and let them lead.
Life is not only about being the light for young people, as in life there are always those who are suffering or in pain, and need a light to illuminate their pathway and show them the way. So my resolution this year, is to be the light for all of those who need it. In the true style of being a scout, I am going to make a concerted effort to do a good deed every day and to be selfless in doing so. If it is smiling at a stranger, or buying a sausage roll and cup of tea for the homeless man in Gosport, I urge you to consider those around you who have darkness in their lives and that you share your light with them.
Without people being the light for me in the last year, I have no idea what state I would be in now. I have friends who do not know the amount they have done for me, and friends who I know will always be there for me, and that I am eternally grateful for - no amount of flowers or words can express how grateful I am and how much I love these people (you know who you are!)
So for 2014, I have three words: Shine, Love, Reflect.
Be the light this year and change someone's life. 
