This morning I went for a very wet and muddy run with my husband around our local country park. For most of my run my eyes were fixed on my husband's back as he ran a couple of paces ahead of me. He was wearing a yellow neon jacket. As both a runner and a cyclist I have had to embrace the wearing of neon. My luminous pink and yellow clothes keep me safe on the roads and footpaths, particularly in the gloomy winter days and early evenings. Neon makes me unmissable and shouts 'here I am' to passing motorists.
Many of the young people I work with try to be invisible. They can hide themselves from their teachers by staying quiet and out of trouble. They can hide from their peers at lunchtime by staring at their phone screen. Quite often they are hiding at home too, spending hours alone in their room. But hiding from others only makes us feel expendable and insignificant. Instead of hiding behind a cloak of invisibility, I teach these young people to put on a neon jacket. To be visible, to be seen, to be unmissable. To have the confidence to say 'Here I am'.
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