Editor, The Herald:

My goal is to let the young people know there is an opportunity to do better. No matter what your problem is at the present time. From five to 18 years old you will make errors in many ways. We call it growing up. These young years are critical years. Why so? Through your mistakes in learning as much as you can, you must learn to separate right from wrong. As you grow older you must keep in focus on all that you do, meaning that you must control your mind and make sure before you speak or act to take your time making decisions. You must have a proper education while you are young, in order for you to have a successful future in life. Most all the super stars come from high school or college. How is your relationship with your parents, teachers and others? Maybe some change is needed. What you do now in your youth is most important in every way. You are going through a learning process and this learning is preparing you for man or womanhood. I feel that a lot of young people out there need to know that they are somebody regardless of what the problem may be. In my 63 years I have witnessed how our young people's way of life has changed. Self-esteem and self-respect in a lot of cases is below the standard of being a good citizen in this country, regardless of color. In all your learning you must understand the need of respect and self-esteem. You have that push within yourself to learn, no matter what. Don't be afraid to ask your parents for help. You cannot hide that problem forever; it's best to tackle a problem early on and let your relationships grow strong and trust in your parents. The bad news you may hear from your parents so often becomes good news later on. Can you remember when your parents said 'no'? And how upset you were over it? Then later you learned that you avoided a lot of trouble by your parents saying 'no.' Take heed from your parents and trust in your parents.

Charles Leftwich

Buckingham