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And for my youths listening, explorers or no explorers, you guys are faced with crazy all the time. I wanted to be 20
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when I was eight and I was like dying for someone to look at me like I was older and mature.
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And some people will do that with respect. They're going to give you responsibility and the room to come into
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your own. But others are going to try and take advantage. I didn't know what the signs were when I was young. So let
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me talk to you like the grown-up you are. You are not an idiot. So if you feel like a line is being crossed, you get
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that like tingling in your spine or that jelly [clears throat] in your belly, you
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know something is off. You do not have to justify it. You don't have to excuse it away. It's not your
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responsibility to make adults feel comfortable. And you do not have to protect them from
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their own actions. And if you realize it too late, no you didn't. It is never too late to
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draw the line and stop unwanted behavior. And it is never your fault. Doesn't matter if it's a cop or your
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pastor or a teacher or a coach. Whether it's an explorer program or somewhere else, you don't owe anyone your time,
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attention, or access. If an officer asks to be alone or sends flirty secretive messages or just gives
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you a bad feeling, tell someone you trust. And if something already happened, you
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are not to blame. Even if you didn't or couldn't say no in the moment, even if it felt like
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something you agreed to, power dynamics can twist what feels like a choice. And you deserve support no matter what.