My name is Sergio Francu, I am 19 years old, originally from the Bay Area, and now living in Stockton where I go to the Adult School. As a younger person I was always getting into a lot of trouble. I never listened to anybody, and I thought everyone was against me, out to make my life miserable. My anger as a youngster blurred my vision in seeing that people were extra hard on me because they saw the brightness and potential. I rebelled and got lost in all the negativity of the streets.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I'm trying to stay more productive. I returned to finish high school, and I came across the Young Democrats. Before I ever ran into them, I thought anything having to do with government stuff was dumb. I started to get interested when they taught me that we have the power to choose who and what we want to be good for us. The knowledge that I got from all this made me want to spread the word so that all young people could realize that we're in control and that we need to be heard. So I'm really glad that I participated because it opened my eyes to a lot of new things. I met a lot of solid people, and I'm going to continue to be involved.