The Sandlot

   In the movie The Sandlot, Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez was the cool kid on the block. Suave, smooth, and debonair, the girls liked him and the guys wanted to be like him. He was cool and charming, but most of all he was great at baseball. 

     Scotty Smalls was the awkward kid in town. Skinny, scrawny, and socially inept, Scotty wanted nothing more than to fit in. His clothes didn't fit and he wasn't up to date with pop culture. He didn't fit in with the rest of the kids, but he wanted to. Not only that, but he really really wanted to play baseball. The only problem was he wasn't very good. He wasn't good at all.

     Benny Rodriguez saw past the awkwardness of Scotty Smalls and gave him a chance. He picked him to be part of the team and guided him very calmly in the sport, assuring him to "just stick out your hand," and "I'll hit it toward you." Sure enough, Benny's home run went straight toward Smalls (straight to his face, but straight toward him nonetheless).

Richmond is a dangerous city to grow up in as a child. I didn't have any friends growing up because it was too dangerous to play outside. My parents didn't play sports so I didn't have anyone to play catch with, and I never knew how to play baseball, basketball, or football. By the time I was in elementary school I was the "Scotty Smalls" in the corner during recess and lunch, not being picked to be on anyone's team because I didn't even know how to play!

     One day, everything changed. Ray Vargas was the "Benny Rodriguez" on campus. He was the popular kid in school, so if you were cool with Ray, you were cool with everybody. Ray would see me on the corner during recess day after day. One particular day he decided to pick me on his team! I couldn't believe it. As the years went on I learned basketball, I joined the team, and eventually became one of the popular kids along-side Ray! My self-esteem got stronger and stronger, until eventually I felt confident enough to run for class president in the 8th grade (which led to Sophomore Class Representative in high school and Junior Class President). As my friendship with Ray developed he even became my campaign manager that year and I ultimately was elected Student Body President of my elementary school. 

   In this age of social media and cyber-bullying, we need more kids like Ray Vargas and Benny Rodriguez. The way a child is treated as a youth plays a huge role in molding their self-esteem. Instead of plastering people all over Twitter and Facebook we should build people up. One small act could change a child's life forever. I know, because I was once a "Scotty Smalls."