transitions in a land of confusion

I have to say that starting this blog and maintaining it has catalogued some of the better experiences in my short life as well as opened many new and exciting opportunities. And so it is with great pleasure that I am making an effort to renew my writing passion and zeal to write down my experiences and thoughts, perhaps someday to write a book? who knows. . . Is this a new year's resolution of sorts, maybe, but I am not resolving to do anything. Writing is a creative and organic process, so I won't place any restrictions or expectations, just to start writing again when the mood hits me. I used to use writing as a release: from stress, from the insanity of the real world, from my mind's own prison. . .

My writing really took a downward spiral in and after my three-month internship in South Africa. Access to the internet was limited, I continued to journal almost daily, but maintaining this blog was just not possible with the work I was doing. It was a long and difficult summer full of rewarding, but intense experiences. Returning to the states, getting back into the blog only became a burden as I worked to adjust and get back into the swing of life in the US as my last year of college loomed.

That year finally happened with attempts to get back into writing, most were short lived. As I feared the most, I was one class short of graduating! I walked for the ceremony, but thankfully could utilize the summer months to complete an independent study and officially receive a degree. Bachelors of Arts (international relations & global area studies: Africa with a specialization in international development) in hand really started focusing, harder than before, on finding a paying gig in the real world. My plan was to find something that (#1) paid, (#2) was in Michigan, and (#3) didn't make me compromise my morals. My goals were to give back to the great state of Michigan, remain in close proximity to the staff of my fledgling organization, and spend more time with the people I love.

It all happened to work out when I was hired at buildOn, a non-profit organization with the primary goal of building schools in other countries to fight illiteracy and bring education to children all over the world. The organization does this through after school programs at high schools in Michigan's urban hubs (Detroit, Dearborn, Pontiac) where students voluntarily learn about global issues, give back to their own communities through service, and raise money to sponsor schools in Nicaragua, Mali, and Malawi. Since August 5th 2009, I've been working this great opportunity straight out of undergraduate studies that allows me to follow all the criteria I had set for myself.

I now live in Detroit (more to come on that later), own a car, get a big boy salary with benefits, and am still running my own non-profit in my free time, SCOUT BANANA. On top of all of these life developments I will be starting a Masters in Social Justice program this month at Marygrove College in Detroit, two minutes down the road from the house I now live in. They have an incredible history of acting outside the norm, radically focusing on helping people, and pursuing scholarly activism that promotes social justice. I am excited to get started in their 7th Cohort of students!

It has been a time of many transitions. Some easy, some not so easy, but all have been successful with a good dose of confusion, flexibility, and an amazing girlfriend who has made everything much easier! Be on the lookout for some more blog posts to close out my South African experience in the Summer of 2008, some of my non-expert opinions on Detroit, and some more generally interesting thoughts on the coming year. Everyone has predictions, so why not throw some more out there? I will also be headed to remote Nicaragua in early February with a group of buildOn students to build a school, so there is definitely some great experiences to come!

young people for. . .

This year I have been awarded a fellowship through the Young People For the American Way. YP4 is a youth-driven and youth-led program that brings together young leaders and activists who are eager to ensure that their voices are heard on critical issues, such as civil liberties, the judiciary, free speech, the environment, and civil rights. The program is designed for serious people who are interested in becoming more effective leaders and making a difference. I am happy and honored to say that I have been chosen as one of those people. Coming up this month in roughly 6 days is the National Summit of all the progressive leaders chosen for the fellwoship. I am very excited to be headed to Washington D.C. and meet the outstanding student leaders from across the US.

"In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation. . ."
- Great law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy)

As I have said before, I am an idealist - or that is how many people define me - I am a dreamer, but I keep the realities of the world close at hand. In my young age I have experienced so much, met so many inspiring people, seen so much suffering, and witnessed an incredible amount of hope. I dream, but I also see my dreams come to life, I hope and that hope becomes an embodied passion. I dream of a world where my children can live and have no fear. Fear is merely the term used when there is an absence of compassion. I dream of a world where peace is the norm, we will cooperate and coexist and accept one another for who he or she may be. I dream of a world where passion for life and the well-being of others drives the world and not lust for fame, fortune, or the frivolity of things. I dream and I hope. One of my favorite quotes: "Dreams do not meet the overhead, believers do." A person who does not dream cannot be a believer, but a dreamer has to do more than just envision, a dreamer has to put their heart and soul into their dreams. What I see as the greatest problem in our country (USA) and in our world is the great lack of passion and compassion in society. Where there is a lack of passion there is a lack of purpose. Where there is a lack of compassion there is a lack of hopes and dreams. This all leads to what we are experiencing today - a government with little citizen participation, a society bent on getting more, a world caught up in greed, and a cynical base of societal leaders.

The most basic human emotion of compassion is neglected. People need to be relating to one another as equals. Our pain is the same yet in this world that seems to bring no gain. Broken and dying the poverty stricken are lying at society's doorsteps. Who will it be who brings about the change in people's attitudes? What will you do? Today people relate to one another through historical class structures that have somehow made it into the modern world. We go to the schools of our same class (private, public), we attend the same stores as our class, and we meet at the same community centers as our class. Capitalism has driven us apart, its drive for more profit at any cost and hierarchical divisons make us insensitive to the plights of others - because they are below us. Yes, you guessed it I am a socialist. No, not a communist - a socialist, there is a difference. I believe that when economics and class structures are leveled then we will live in a truly equal (and then free) world. When we do not rely on gaining for ourselves, but for our neighbors then we will be a free society. When we can work together to end poverty of all peoples then democracy will be true.

This can all be changed as the decision making power lies with the people. Right now the people do not realize this because those in power use fear to control and gain more power. War, terrorism, flu pandemics - be very afraid and give more power to your government to protect you. No, this is where people need to step up and be more involved democrats (as in a supporter of democracy - not political party)! If we truly live in a democracy then we the people need to be sure that the powerful know what is at stake. Democracy is more than just an idea and a great white building - democracy is a mindset of the people. Democracy is more than a building and less than a person. Democracy lives outside the great buildings of Washington D.C., but has more power than each man or woman gives to it. The decision making power seems to fearfully reside with the primp and proper politicians on the hill, but truly the power resides in the hands of the people - we only need more passion and compassion!

This is just a glance at what concepts and values are in the world I imagine for the future. I believe it to be a possibility. Even more than a possibility, a hope. When we embolden and embody our passions and compassion, when we realize career politicians have no place in America, when we recognize that we each hold the power to help one another and change the world, only then will my imagination be served no longer. The burning issues of passion and compassion live on my campus, in my community, and in our country. When a student refuses to listen to all sides and later decide on their own, when a community leader pushes for a ban of rights for underserved people, when a country bows to fear - this is when the burning issues of passion and compassion rule the day. I strongly believe that the youth of today hold the creativity and the answers to reverse this trend and change the world for the better of society. The youth are the future, we are the future, what do want to see in your future?