Diego’s Story-A Success Story in Progress
The year… 2003
The grade was the 8th. At this point in my life, I had engraved in my head that nobody was going to tell me what to do. I thought I knew everything and I certainly didn’t need any adults giving me advice or instructions. So when the word broke that the Boys & Girls Club of Tracy would be opening a branch at Delta Island, my mission had become to make the staff’s lives as miserable as I could. At that time, I didn’t like the fact that these people with their fancy staff shirts, whom I didn’t know, wanted to come to my school and tell me what I could or couldn’t do. I didn’t intend to make it easy for them. So after a while, the office became my non official lounge. (I was there almost every day). Some staff survived my behavior, others weren’t so lucky. But when a lady named Lisa Frymyer became unit director, everything changed.
The year… 2004
My freshmen year in high school had just begun, and I was slowly starting to take in all the bad influences. Soon enough, the “cool things” for me were becoming drugs, alcohol, and trying to start fights just to do it. I was headed in the wrong direction, and it seemed like there was really no other place to go but down. As I mentioned earlier, Lisa Frymyer started working at the club in 2004, and it was a blessing in disguise for me. She slowly started giving me minor responsibilities (Take out trash, help staff set up/ clean, play with some of the kids) and after a while I was a part of the first junior staff program. I soon started noticing that maybe “down” wasn’t the only direction I could take.
The years… 2005-2006
Sophomore and junior years had ups and downs, but no matter what I was going through, I knew I still had one place where I could go and not have to deal with the various complications that come with being a teenager. That place was The Boys & Girls Club. At this point in my life, I was getting very involved at the club (If you can’t beat them, join them right?), so much that Lisa Frymyer, who was becoming the angel on my right shoulder that fought with the devil on the left shoulder, had offered me a job as a junior staff on payroll. I immediately accepted and soon came to find out that dealing with sugar fueled kids wasn’t easy at all! It took patience, and at fifteen years old, patience was something I didn’t have. Soon enough, I was losing interest in working there because I still didn’t feel comfortable bossing kids around when I was still a kid myself. The bad influences were fading away, yet still there, waiting for me to go back to them. I realized I had to make a choice, either one life style, or the other.
The years… 2007 to the present
Senior year was here and moving quickly. My main goal was to graduate, and I had completed my mission. I never thought I would make it to graduation, so the fact that I had my cap and gown on, waiting to receive my diploma, was almost surreal. I had made my choice, and I had decided to flick off that devil from my right shoulder and not follow the direction so many of my close friends had taken. I spent the summer before senior year working at the 4th street unit (which is now South West Park Unit) and the unit director Norma Perry, whipped me into shape, teaching me and constantly reminding me about what I was there to do. I had become more focused than ever, sometimes even surprising myself. I wasn’t thinking about drugs, alcohol, or starting fist fights anymore. I was thinking about my job, my family, and filling out college applications. It was crazy, yet exciting at the same time.
I find it funny that for a while, the only person that didn’t believe in me was me. People like Norma Perry, (My mentor who reminds me to wipe my feet anytime she sees me slipping at work) , and Lisa Frymyer, (who I consider a second mother ), believed in me when I needed it the most. Who knows where I would have ended up if The Boys & Girls club hadn’t decided to open up a branch at Delta Island. No where good, I suppose. It’s been two years now, and I still find it funny that I'm waking up everyday at six o’clock, going to school and work. I never in a million years thought I would accomplish everything that I have, from winning scholarships, to attending college, and winning the 2007 Boys & Girls Clubs of Tracy’s Youth of The Year Award. I owe all of it to The Boys & Girls Club and the staff that cared more for me then I did for myself. If I could give anyone that’s reading this any advice, it would have to be, always surround yourselves with good people, because no matter what, those good people will always be there for you.