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Not all superheroes wear capes; some wear earbuds. The students of BATS (Bringing Awareness to Students) in Clark County are here to remind us that every teenager has something unique to share with the world.
This season on WYSO Youth Radio, we're celebrating those gifts as superpowers.
Amarri Barron: My name is Amarri Barron, and I am a freshman at Springfield High School. This year, I came to a new high school, and I witnessed a friend being made fun of. In that time, I was able to be a good person to someone who really needed help.
My superpower is independence. Independence has the ability to show someone that they are not alone and give them a friend when everyone else is acting like their enemy. Independence shows people that there are others who care about them and are going through the same thing as them.
It can be very hard to be independent in certain situations, and sometimes you have to have the courage to go on and develop the qualities that can make you a better person.
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Ireland Emmons: My name is Ireland Emmons. I'm a freshman at Springfield High School.
I quickly came to the realization that you can't force anybody to value your presence. You can't force somebody to realize what you're worth.
I'm not distant. I just refuse to force my presence somewhere that it isn't wanted—not because I'm giving up, simply because I deserve better for myself. I deserve people who see me as my accomplishments and not my struggles.
I deserve people who won't break me while trying to piece themselves together. I deserve somebody who doesn't have to lose me to realize that I mattered. I'm worthy of the energy I give to others, and I deserve the love I give, not just the love I receive.
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Breana Paul: My name is Breana Paul. I am a seventh grader at Roosevelt Middle School.
Self-image is something that I've really struggled with. Excessive device use has made it a lot worse. I want to have the self-control to be able to say, "This isn't good for me. I need to limit this, and I need to do things that actually make me feel confident and actually make me feel like I can shine brighter."
I feel like I can make people see this and that they will maybe think, "Maybe I should try that. Maybe I should stop using the internet so much." I can make people feel better about themselves and tell them positive things about themselves—that what you see on the internet is fake and it's not real, but you are real, and that's perfect.
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Matthew Comer: My name is Matthew Comer. I'm in the seventh grade at Ridgewood School in Springfield, Ohio, and I have been very lucky to be the co-founder of Outside Is the Best Side, which is a youth-led program that is trying to encourage others to go outside. It has been shown in studies that in the past few years, time spent outside has declined and time spent inside on phones has increased.
This has led to a lot of bad mental health problems, and it can be addressed by spending more time outside and limiting phone use. I've even seen that a lot of times at recess at my own school, there are people who would rather skip recess and stay inside on their computers than play outside. There are many times when people should be interacting with each other, but they aren't. Many times, I've been at Olive Garden, and I've seen parents ignoring their child or children on their iPads. It's very sad to see that some families aren't getting the time they need together. So, this program has just tried to help with that.
There are many planned events coming up soon, such as an outdoor toy drive to help people who may not have the means to get outdoor toys for their kids. We're also going to do a lot of seminar events around town.
So maybe the next generation's superpowers aren't hidden at all. They're showing up every day—in classrooms, in friendships, and sometimes even outdoors, without a phone in sight. Thanks to BATS for sharing their superpowers with us. Special thanks to Beth Dixon for helping bring this project to life.
WYSO Youth Radio is made possible with support from the Ohio Arts Council, and it's produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices.
