Fears and aspirations; one might be the other

Today I was sitting in on one of my practicums and I was listening to some of the students do a creative poem.  I'm at a middle school and I never really thought that they would be as deep as they were.  I was amazed just what these sixth and seventh graders were capable of.  What they are afraid of:  getting shot, losing their family, being arrested.  What they aspire to do:  go to college, see their little siblings grow up, change the economy.  These kids' stories are so powerful.  They have been through a lot and their bravery for sharing this with their classmates and me, a visitor and stranger to them.  At the end of one of the classes, one of the students came up to me and introduced himself saying, "Hi I'm Gary" as he reached out his hand.  He was such a sweet kid.  I had heard a lot of stereotypes for this school and I feel bad that I judged them previously.  These kids are going to go places, and I hope when I'm a teacher I will be able to bring my students to their full potential.