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MEGAN: ELIJAH DAVIS HAS TAKEN A LOT OF SCHOOL PICTURES. BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT. PICTURE DAY WON’T HAPPEN FOR A FEW WEEKS AT LOCKERMAN BUNDY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THIS WAS HIS IDEA, LENDING HIS TIME AND TALENTS TO PHOTOGRAPH STUDENTS WITH A SIMPLE MESSAGE, I AM SO AWESOM IT IS BACKGROUND SAYS I AM SO OFTEN -- AWESOME. WHEN I AM FEELING SAD OR LONELY I CAN ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT PICTURE. >> IT IS COOL THAT SOMEONE WANTS TO TAKE PICTURES AND DO STUFF FOR KIDS WHO, LIKE SOME KID TO HAVE SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES. MEGAN: IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN TAKING A PICTURE THOUGH, ELIJAH DAVIS HOPES THIS IMPROVES THE STUDENT’S SELF ESTEEM AND HELPS THEM MAKER BETTER DECISIONS. >> I THOUGHT THAT, AS A PHOTOGRAPHER WHAT CAN I DO? TO HELP THESE YOUNG PEOPLE SEE THAT THEY HAVE A PLACE IN THIS WORLD AND THEY ARE SOMEONE. MEGAN: DEMOR’AE CRAWFORD LOVES HAVING HER PICTURE TAKEN SHE SAYS WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF, YOU TREAT OTHERS WITH KINDNESS. >> WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT SHE WEARS OR WHAT HE WEARS. IT’S JUST BE YOURSELF. >> IT CONNECTS TO OUR DISTRICTS INITIATVE OF EMOTIONAL LEARNING. KIDS ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THEIR STRENGTHS AND THEIR SELF PERCEPTION IS IN THE LIGHT. MEGAN: HE IS ALSO A MENTOR IN SCHOOLS BUT THAT IS NOT HOW HE GOT THIS IDEA. HE GOT THE IDEA AFTER HE WAS THE VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME AND THAT WAS COMMITTED BY A YOUNGER PERSON. >> IF I WAS ABLE TO REACH THAT YOUNG MAN BEFORE HE ACTUALLY PULLED A GUN ON ME AND ROBBED ME, WHAT CAN I DO WHAT CAN I SAY , TO HIM TO CHANGE HIS CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE HE DIDN’T FEEL THE NEED TO DO ANY DAY. -- TO DO WHAT HE DID. MEGAN HE HOPES TO GO TO MORE : SCHOOLS WITH THE SAME MESSAGE, REMINDING KIDS THEY ARE SO AWESOME. IN WEST

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A Baltimore man is working to enhance the self-esteem of children in an effort to help reduce youth crime, one picture at a time.Elijah Davis wants to help children feel good about themselves. He has taken many school pictures, but this is different.Picture day will not happen for a few weeks at Lockerman Bundy Elementary School in west Baltimore. But Davis is lending his time and talents to photograph students with a simple message: "I am so awesome.""The background (of the picture) says, 'I'm so awesome.' So whenever I'm feeling sad or lonely or something, I can always remember that picture," said Calia Carter, a student."I think it's pretty cool that somebody wants to look out and take pictures or do stuff for kids who, like, some kids who have self-esteem issues," said Peyton Harrod, a student.It's about more than taking a picture. Davis said he hopes his idea improves the students' self-esteem and helps them make better decisions."I thought that, as a photographer, what can I do to help these young people see that they have a place in this world and that there's someone?" Davis said.Demor'ae Crawford, a student, loves having her picture taken. She said when you feel good about yourself, you treat others with kindness."You don't have to worry about what she's wearing or what he's wearing. You just be yourself," Crawford said."It connects to our district's initiatives of social and emotional learning. Kids are able to identify their strengths, and their self-perception is actually in the light," said Kimberly Hill Miler, the school's principal.Davis isn't just a photographer. He's also a mentor in schools, but that's not how he got the idea. He said he got the idea when he was a victim of a crime that was committed by a young person."If I was able to reach that young man before he actually pulled a gun on me to rob me, what could I do, what can I say to him to change his circumstances where he didn't feel the need to do what he did?" Davis said.Davis said he hopes to go to more schools with the same message to remind kids they are so awesome.