Good Kid

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Prompt:

In “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan, Percy can’t find where he belongs and has been to six schools in six years. He doesn’t know who his dad is and, more importantly, he doesn’t know who he is. On top of that, he has ADHD and Dislexia. All he wants is to make it to the next grade. In short, his life sucks.

In the book, and the musical, we watch as Percy figures out and decides who he is. And we see him find a loving, if wacky, community that he belongs to. What communities have you been a part of? Have you not quite fit in somewhere? And have you ever struggled in figuring out who you are, especially when you don’t fit in somewhere? Think about these questions as you listen to the song, Good Kid, from “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”.

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Responding:

After you have listened to the song, take some time to respond. You can answer the questions from above, create your own questions to anwser, draw something from the song, draw something from your own life, write your own off-the-cuff story, or any number of other things. It is up to you. But if you feel stuck, don’t be affraid to reach out.

Once you feel satisfied with your response, you are encouraged to share. You don’t need to share, if you would like to keep your response between you and God. It is up to you. You can share your response in the comments below.

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Lyrics:

Six schools in six years, Been kicked out of every place. Everything I ever do is wrong, Never find where I belong, Everybody on my case.

The same old story, The same old song, "Don't act up, don't act out, Be strong"

I keep my head down, I keep my chin up, But it ends up all the same With: "Pack your bags, Percy. You're always to blame"

I never try to do anything, I never mean to hurt anyone.

I try, I try to be a good kid, A good kid, A good son.

But no one will ever take my side, All I ever do is take the fall. I swear, I swear that I'm a good kid. Yes, I'm good for nothing at all.

Gabe was a world-class jerk, Dad was never there, The only family that really mattered? Well, she vanished into the air.

And now, I finally find a haven, somewhere safe where I can stay, Until it's: "Pack your bags, Percy, Now go your own way."

I never tried to do anything, I never mean to hurt anyone.

I swear, I swear that I'm a good kid. Yeah, Percy, that's a good one…

But no one will ever take my side, All I ever do is take the fall.

I swear, I swear that I'm a good kid, Yeah I'm good for nothing at all.

Six schools in six years, every battle, every day.

No one ever tells me that they're proud, No one asks me, "Percy, would you like to come around and stay?" All you get are bad grades, a bum rap, a bad rep, And a good smack, and no friends, And no home, and no mom…

She's taken away.

I swear I never stole anything. I never meant to hurt anyone. I swear, I swear that I'm a good kid. A good kid, who's had a bad run.

All I need is one last chance, To prove that I'm good enough for someone.

I'm good enough for someone.

Six schools in six years.