Well the summer has finally, some to a close and school has began. I sit here and reflect on what took place over the past three and a half months. My second summer at Upward Bound. It always amazes me how much a single person can affect the young adults around him/her. My mom always used to tell me that just my presense in being there or doing something could make all the difference. I never believed her. I don't think I do anything special. I'm not usually a talker when it comes to personal problems. Only time I make alot of noise is playing ball. Probably my best characteristic is that I'm a paitent listener. Over the course of the summer, I couldn't believe how much that would come in to play. The number of hours spent in my room, listening to the variety of issues that was laid out to me. And as the program came to a close, many of my students came up to me with a thank you and a hug for what I did for them of the summer. I had never been so touched in my life. It was then I finally was able to realize the potential of someone who was just there to listen. Those kids will never know how much it meant to me when they could open up to me and trusted me to listen.