inspire action

there was definitely a divine being at work with this one. there was a reason why it ended with emmanuel, donaghy, and me sitting and having lunch. and truly talking about huge things that can come of this all.

so what's next? there are already dots i know need to be connected. and they are pretty big dots. baltimore. boys of baraka. kenya. ghana. mica. bikes. velocipide. my mind is working trying to put it all together. but after the past few days, i am just emotionally, phsically, and mentally drained. (i'm sure along with the entire rest of the avondale crew, who has been busting their butts even more than me and sacrificing even more sleep and sanity.) that's ok with me. this one can take some time. i'm not worried that the urge to do something will escape me. not at all. and i've got a crazy five weeks ahead of me. but when i think about everything from the last five weeks, it's a really exciting place to be at.

overcome challenges

this was such an emotional, powerful, day for me.

it's hard, because i'm here. but i'm not here. my mind is 9 hours away in baltimore. and everything that is said brings me back to that.

the structured activity today was a simulation created to mimic class systems. everyone was separated into three groups (two of which got chairs, and the last was just told, "sorry, i guess you have to sit on the floor.") and everyone got five chips with varying point values. except the initial distribution was very calculated. the first group got really good chips, the third, not so much. and from there they were instructed to trade. there were lots of levels at play: political, social, economic. things went as they do in the real world. the top basked in their success. (and even worked to prevent anyone from rising to join them.) the middle stayed comfortable. the bottom completely drowned. when the opportunity for bonus points was offered to each group, i stayed with the lowest group to see how they would distribute amongst themselves. one girl was adamant. "we're trying to move people up. he has the most potential. you don't." another thought that they should "give it to the lowest so that everyone has a fair shot." no one wanted to take that risk. now these activities have some power when you are participating and caught in the middle of it all. but for me, it was much more fascinating to observe from the outside. to take note of what people were saying and see it all go down.

after that, i met emmanuel at the airport. he was so little. so soft spoken. and the weird thing was it didn't hit me until much later that he had a prosthetic leg. it hadn't even crossed my mind. we snuck him in the back door, because no one knew that he was coming. before he would suprise everyone later that night at the awards banquet, we took him to lunch. (pretty fancy.) and he shared with us what he is doing now. later this year he's planning a bike race with disabled citizens to promote a peaceful presidential election in ghana this december. and he's collecting bikes to give to students who walk hours to get to school everyday. i'm amazed at all that he is continuing to take on. or maybe i assumed he would feel like the stuff he had accomplished leading up to the movie was enough. not at all. he just keeps going. nothing is too unreasonable.

change perceptions

i'm going to attempt to do a day-by-day, play-by-play (i make no guarantees. as with everything, it is so much better in real life.) of this crazy thing called the masc/mahs state student leadership conference that i left mica for a weekend to be a part of. and that my old high school, avondale, is hosting. (it's weird looking back, because states was really the start of it all for me. as overdramatic as that sounds. i went to the state conference four years ago, not knowing anything at all. and i left after a whirlwind weekend with a position on the michigan association of honor society state board of delegates. and the rest is history...)

day one of the state conference was all about changing perceptions. (one of the themes that was pulled out of the movie "emmanuel's gift"- the motivation behind the conference. ) typically this conference consists of 3 semi-decent speakers. (which seems to be more like irrelevant filler time. or "if it ain't broke don't fix it.") but this year, it was all about doing things the avondale way. raising standards and pushing innovation. they decided that they didn't need speakers at all. (shock!) they would just show the movie, because it is that good.

it was a smart move. during structured activities, everyone was spot on. making connections between the start of the movie and this activity based on labels and stereotypes and power. and there was very little prodding on my part that needed to be done. they were getting it. which is exciting because i know what this is building up to...

here's the video donaghy made to show at the opening ceremony:

you can leave the ship but the ship won't leave you

i had my first real college leadership conference yesterday. it was a collaboration between mica and the university of baltimore. it was pretty basic. but it felt so good to just be in that kind of environment again. i missed it.

one of the sessions was called "true colors." we took one of those classic leadership styles quizes & identified ourselves with a color. i've done many a personality quiz in my day. but for some reason it was good to take one apart from high school leadership activities & apply it to my college leadership experiences. especially recently with all this program manager stuff kicking in to high gear, i've been trying to see how my leadership style from avondale will fit in with the student activities office at mica.

i was green. it was nice find my truth in the typically generic generalizations. the facilitators described greens as sponges. they talked about greens just soaking everything in, and needing to stop and squeeze it all out and process it on their own. which is very true. one kid (who was obviously green) asked with all seriousness where the water went when it got squeezed out of the sponge. (ummm... so he missed the boat with the metaphor.) but i thought about it, and realized this blog is totally where i squeeze out my sponge. (speaking of blogging & sponges... my friend stephanie started her own blog! she's been talking about it for awhile & finally went for it. so glad i was able to convince someone to try the whole blog thing out. it really is such a good outlet.) here's more about green...

green:

expects intelligence and competence
seeks for ways to improve systems
standard setter
perfectionist and quality conscious
serious
theoretical and conceptual
seeks "big" picture
looks at the world and sees possibilities, meanings and relationships
architects of change
sets high standards
visionary/futurist
analytical
philosophical
can see the core of complex issues or problems
can never know enough
appears cool, calm, collected
needs independence and private time
encourages change for improvement
constantly in process of change
are challenged most when someone says it can't be done

and that's me in a nut shell.

at the end of the day i basically wrote an essay on the back of my evaluation form. don't get me wrong, it was a good conference. the idea was to put leaders from mica and university of baltimore together. and it's important to put the idea out there and in motion for a few years before you build on it. but i think it can be bigger. the good old leadership conference planner in me had a strong urge the whole day to start project planning for a leadership conference that would involve all of the schools in the baltimore collegetown network. if the idea is connecting (key word!) & really mingling with other students, that there needs to be more that just familiar mica faces and a smattering of kids. i see mega mixers, lots of networking & idea swapping, and allowing the experienced leaders to plan and facilitate their own sessions and pass on advice to emerging leaders. that's my vision. we'll see what happens...

wow.

so glad i found this quote after the whole sc switch was thrown at me.


my jc warm fuzzies... which i actually made while i was there & just never handed out. they will be coming in the mail shortly. i promise.


a little bit of red.


my gift for doris. what do you give the person who prints off pictures two minutes after she takes them?


a picture with brent so i can tell him that i put it on my "gossip blog"


the crazy junior councelors. so much love!

what a week. wow is all i can say. just one of those experiences i'm not sure i'm ready to even attach words to. just wow. maybe sometime when i've had enough sleep & enough time to reflect i'll sit down & document it all.

peace. love. camp.

it all starts this friday. tomorrow i am sleeping in (finally!), packing all my red stuff, jump starting warm fuzzies, finding a ride, and getting into the camp frame of mind. and then i'll be ready.

yeah, about that...

i just did a walk of shame out of party city toting $100 worth of red stuff. combine that with a few previous red shopping sprees, at the dollar store and the like, and i've more than negated my jc stipend for the week.

such is camp. it's all about the color. and i am all out embracing the red.

& i am an impulse shopper. at least i come by it honestly. but i really did need the red spidey gloves. and the red fish net tights. and the red shiny star cut outs. i'm a sucker for stars. my council will be decked out fo' sure.

other slices of life:

met mrs. sullivan today for dinner at panera. so good to see her. she is truly something else. looking back i realize how lucky i have been to have had so many dynamic individuals part of my avondale experience.

hanging with my girls, ava & liv. we had our ups and downs... as can be expected with a full day of babysitting. but nothing a little dancing and yogurt can't fix. back for another round tomorrow.

the home run derby broadcaster could be giving impemba a run for his money. "...kids are converging on each other out there. somebody's going to get hurt." i was rolling.

jc love

my jc gift book page (apologies in advance for any leadership jargon in this post) was due monday... it was a much needed opportunity to do something creative. mine revolves around change. as stupid as it sounds, i had to consciously tell myself to be open during camp, or i would just walk through the motions. (the difference between level one and level two for me.)

working on my page made the whole camp thing feel a lot more real. i remember reading the gift books on the way home from albion after camp each year... and i would hang onto every word. now i'm in the position to pass on the inspiration. it's a little scary. but really exciting. according to the official jc listserv coundown: T-34 days!