i fly like paper, get high like planes. /
if you catch me at the border, i got visas in my name. /
if you come around here, i make 'em all day. /
i get one done in a second if you wait. //
---
dang...it's been a while. i figure since i can't really sleep due to my wonky sleep schedule, i might as well get on my personal update grizzly. considering it's been a good...17 months since i've posted anything, allow me to give you the abridged version of what's been poppin in 7 words or less per event.
-completed my city year and went to MI.
-met a lady.
-started another city year as a service leader.
-made incredible friends in co-workers.
-realized what true leadership looks like.
-made the BEST team CYNY had (real talk).
-mantreated.
-recruited 110 heroes in LIC.
-lost that lady.
-questioned everything.
-went backwards to move forward.
-failed.
-saw more in myself.
-mantreated again.
-ended heroes and cried.
-graduated 90 heroes and almost cried.
-left CYNY.
-went to ithaca college.
-made a dope program with bomb people.
-made myself better.
-played metroid prime 3.
-woke up to blog.
there. now you're all caught up. i'ma try to be better about this blogging for the 8 people that read this jawn, but seriously, i can't get much worse than 18 months between posts, so we can only go up from here.
shout out to the summer institute 2009 staff and scholars; legendary is all they can call it.
back to following my personal legend, reading the signs, and looking for happiness.
peace and alchemy...
7.18.2009
2.06.2008
*opens vent*
i done came up, got my name up, /
so when they speak of who's blinged up, /
i'm who they bring up. /
come up dissin and you'll come up missin; /
i'ma cutthroat baller, like OJ simpson. /
---
i've just folded 110 young heroes newsletters for the past 2 hours in the CYNY office (that's 110 x 4 folds...do the math). as a break and insurance that i DON'T have carpal tunnel syndrome, the following is a rant. yup, nothing deep. just me rantin and ravin. i call it: the morning commute. expect more rants to come.
cheea!
you know what i can't flippin stand:
* people on the Q85 that try to get thru the bus with big ass bags on their backs;
* people that stand in the doorway on the subway;
* people that get on the subway and the STOP in the doorway;
* people that don't let folks off the train before they get on to just STAND IN THE DOORWAY;
* the catholic school kids that act mad rowdy because they think they deserve to since they don't go to their hard-ass district school;
* the 6 train (yea, i don't use it in my commute. i just hate it);
* people that purposely spill coffee on the subway floor because the cup is too full for them to drink;
* the inconsistency of the Q85...ALL THE TIME;
* the people that see me everyday that look at me funny in my city year attire;
* only getting phone service at jamaica van wyck;
* having unfulfilling microsleeps in between stations that cause me to ALMOST miss my stop;
* sidekicks;
* living in the same boro as my school and STILL leaving before some of my teammates wake up;
* regularly carrying like 25 lbs. of junk on my back.
...there. i feel better.
think.mtv.com --> go there and look at city year new york do it big.
peace and catharsis...
PS: locate the hip-hop docktrine 2...illest boondocks mixtape available, folks. shout to aaron mcgruder (who will NEVER read this blog).
hoursSERVED: 1017.5
so when they speak of who's blinged up, /
i'm who they bring up. /
come up dissin and you'll come up missin; /
i'ma cutthroat baller, like OJ simpson. /
---
i've just folded 110 young heroes newsletters for the past 2 hours in the CYNY office (that's 110 x 4 folds...do the math). as a break and insurance that i DON'T have carpal tunnel syndrome, the following is a rant. yup, nothing deep. just me rantin and ravin. i call it: the morning commute. expect more rants to come.
cheea!
you know what i can't flippin stand:
* people on the Q85 that try to get thru the bus with big ass bags on their backs;
* people that stand in the doorway on the subway;
* people that get on the subway and the STOP in the doorway;
* people that don't let folks off the train before they get on to just STAND IN THE DOORWAY;
* the catholic school kids that act mad rowdy because they think they deserve to since they don't go to their hard-ass district school;
* the 6 train (yea, i don't use it in my commute. i just hate it);
* people that purposely spill coffee on the subway floor because the cup is too full for them to drink;
* the inconsistency of the Q85...ALL THE TIME;
* the people that see me everyday that look at me funny in my city year attire;
* only getting phone service at jamaica van wyck;
* having unfulfilling microsleeps in between stations that cause me to ALMOST miss my stop;
* sidekicks;
* living in the same boro as my school and STILL leaving before some of my teammates wake up;
* regularly carrying like 25 lbs. of junk on my back.
...there. i feel better.
think.mtv.com --> go there and look at city year new york do it big.
peace and catharsis...
PS: locate the hip-hop docktrine 2...illest boondocks mixtape available, folks. shout to aaron mcgruder (who will NEVER read this blog).
hoursSERVED: 1017.5
1.20.2008
the genesis...
i got a part to play, we going hard these days /
fuck the harder way, we doing it the smarter way /
to my God i pray, that's how i start my day /
the bullets start to spray, the revolution starts today /
i say the shit these people ain't got the heart to say /
fuck the harder way, we doing it the smarter way /
to my God i pray, that's how i start my day /
the bullets starts to spray, the revolution starts today //
---
the young heroes program: a saturday community-service club for middle schoolers that can be found in 17 places thruout the country. i and my team have spent the last 4 months prepping, planning, and praying for this program to begin as strong as it could. in the beginning, everything seemed to work against us...our school's principal passed away right before we were to enter the school; the program that we were supposed to be collaborating with wrapped us in bureaucratic red tape for months, crippling our effectiveness; we were a start-up site with lower recruitment goals; we lost a team member (then again, every heroes team in NYC did...); and to top it all off we had a fresh service leader with minimal city year experience. unbeknownst to us tho, we HAD the greatest asset of all...
the people.
because of our efforts, the long island city community reached out to us, accepting us into its businesses, its schools, and its family. we exceeded recruitment goals, matching the goals for the sites already in existence. we confirmed close to 100 young heroes (goal = 84) and hands down our heroes are the best. how do i know? well one, i recruited them (^_^) and two, i met all of them yesterday.
yesterday was our heroes training academy (HTA), the day our heroes get a crash course to what this young heroes biz is all about. after a HELLACIOUS morning with long speaking fits by us and more technical difficulties than windows 95, we engaged about 75 heroes in physical training (PT), prepared them for 1000 people watching them become sworn in as Young Heroes (note the capitalization...it's a big deal), and then showed them how transformative they will be in the next 4 months by having them make butter. from scratch. with marbles. no lie.
however, it wasn't the numbers that came that made this day special for me, it was the energy the heroes had. i remember what i was like in middle school; i had no real friends, i didn't have the chance to do some good like our heroes do. i was running back and forth trying to get the presentation situated and heroes were calling out to me, saying "hey, jamaal/jam/nanny/j. rocker," (i've developing numerous nicknames from my lunchtime visits) and they all had this glow in their eyes. they wanna make a difference in their communities and it's my job to make sure they have the tools and resources necessary to do so.
i've always been one to go hard in my endeavors. some say you're destined to fail if you're heart's not in it. that's why i've devoted myself to these heroes...they've devoted themselves to us.
i will not fail. i will make a difference, alongside MY heroes.
peace and empowerment...
"We want a young person to be recognized as an asset, a resource, and most importantly, part of the solution." -- Young Heroes Program
hoursSERVED: 907
fuck the harder way, we doing it the smarter way /
to my God i pray, that's how i start my day /
the bullets start to spray, the revolution starts today /
i say the shit these people ain't got the heart to say /
fuck the harder way, we doing it the smarter way /
to my God i pray, that's how i start my day /
the bullets starts to spray, the revolution starts today //
---
the young heroes program: a saturday community-service club for middle schoolers that can be found in 17 places thruout the country. i and my team have spent the last 4 months prepping, planning, and praying for this program to begin as strong as it could. in the beginning, everything seemed to work against us...our school's principal passed away right before we were to enter the school; the program that we were supposed to be collaborating with wrapped us in bureaucratic red tape for months, crippling our effectiveness; we were a start-up site with lower recruitment goals; we lost a team member (then again, every heroes team in NYC did...); and to top it all off we had a fresh service leader with minimal city year experience. unbeknownst to us tho, we HAD the greatest asset of all...
the people.
because of our efforts, the long island city community reached out to us, accepting us into its businesses, its schools, and its family. we exceeded recruitment goals, matching the goals for the sites already in existence. we confirmed close to 100 young heroes (goal = 84) and hands down our heroes are the best. how do i know? well one, i recruited them (^_^) and two, i met all of them yesterday.
yesterday was our heroes training academy (HTA), the day our heroes get a crash course to what this young heroes biz is all about. after a HELLACIOUS morning with long speaking fits by us and more technical difficulties than windows 95, we engaged about 75 heroes in physical training (PT), prepared them for 1000 people watching them become sworn in as Young Heroes (note the capitalization...it's a big deal), and then showed them how transformative they will be in the next 4 months by having them make butter. from scratch. with marbles. no lie.
however, it wasn't the numbers that came that made this day special for me, it was the energy the heroes had. i remember what i was like in middle school; i had no real friends, i didn't have the chance to do some good like our heroes do. i was running back and forth trying to get the presentation situated and heroes were calling out to me, saying "hey, jamaal/jam/nanny/j. rocker," (i've developing numerous nicknames from my lunchtime visits) and they all had this glow in their eyes. they wanna make a difference in their communities and it's my job to make sure they have the tools and resources necessary to do so.
i've always been one to go hard in my endeavors. some say you're destined to fail if you're heart's not in it. that's why i've devoted myself to these heroes...they've devoted themselves to us.
i will not fail. i will make a difference, alongside MY heroes.
peace and empowerment...
"We want a young person to be recognized as an asset, a resource, and most importantly, part of the solution." -- Young Heroes Program
hoursSERVED: 907
1.16.2008
o_O
i get the boosters boostin' /
i get computers putin' /
y'all get shot at, call me, i'll do the shootin'//
---
this was my day today:
~went to the office and got farted on taking the W train;
~had a profoundly deep conversation in the CYNY office bathroom. over a urinal;
~was called a "governmental bitch" by some lady on the R train back to IS 204;
~realized i was on the R train after watching a heated mario kart DS duel by the strangest high schoolers;
~walked from queens plaza to IS 204 (a good trek) after getting lost for a couple minutes;
~played nothing but cam'ron tracks in the office at IS 204 so demonstrate the sillyness of the diplomats.
ahhh, service...
HTA in 3 days...check local news outlets NYCers.
peace and goonie goo goo...
hoursSERVED: 881
i get computers putin' /
y'all get shot at, call me, i'll do the shootin'//
---
this was my day today:
~went to the office and got farted on taking the W train;
~had a profoundly deep conversation in the CYNY office bathroom. over a urinal;
~was called a "governmental bitch" by some lady on the R train back to IS 204;
~realized i was on the R train after watching a heated mario kart DS duel by the strangest high schoolers;
~walked from queens plaza to IS 204 (a good trek) after getting lost for a couple minutes;
~played nothing but cam'ron tracks in the office at IS 204 so demonstrate the sillyness of the diplomats.
ahhh, service...
HTA in 3 days...check local news outlets NYCers.
peace and goonie goo goo...
hoursSERVED: 881
1.12.2008
back for '08...
oh what a feelin', i'm feelin life [hey!] /
you ain't even gotta bring ya paper out /
we the dope boys of year; drinks is on the house [we in the house!]
the roc boys in the buildin' tonight [hey]
look at how i'm chillin', i'm killin' this ice [hey!] /
you ain't even gotta your purses out /
we the dope boys of year; drinks is on the house [we in the house, house, house...]
---
hiya, peoples. apologies on the lack of proper updates; it's been a wild four months to say the least. however, it's 2008 and i'm feeling bueno. the blog's gonna get a bit more jamaal-centric now that i've learned how to separate myself from my work (to SOME degree); however, i will be updating on my city year experience in depth on think.mtv.com. that being said, allow me to update you all on what's been good with the kid since you last tuned in:
~ city year: CYNY has been influential in guiding me towards my goal of affecting change in the LIC community. good folks, good people, terrible social scene tho. guess i'm really as old as i feel...
~ young heroes: we flippin MASSACRED recruitment this year. your boy hit the streets, slinging community service like cooked crack; and it worked. we've confirmed 95 students in young heroes in LIC alone (destroying our goal of 84) and 198 city-wide. shouts to my fellow heroes who have dedicated themselves to making this program pop off in 7 days.
~ wii: i've conquered that loser, kakarot, in DBZ budokai tenkaichi 3 and will now challenge folk worldwide with the saiyan prince. i'd call out, double G but he's STILL not worth my time. oh, and guitar hero is flipping dope.
THINK: CYNY has been chosen by MTV to launch its newest initiative: think.mtv.com. THINK is kinda like facebook for social activists; it allows folk to unite and educate themselves on various issues concerning social justice. from news articles to organizations to specific causes, THINK provides an interesting opportunity to learn about what's really going down in our world. plus, what's social networking without media? THINK offers folk to upload shots, clips, and blog their fingers off about what's affecting them. it's still in its nascent stages so it's kinda rough to navigate, but definitely give it a peep when you have some time. also, the bulk of my city year blogging will go there (at least the stuff that makes the company look good) so if you wanna catch up on my corps experience, look for it there.
oh, and since CYNY is such a G organization, MTV is sending us vid-cameras to document our corps experience to possibly be played on MTV sometime during the summer, so peep think.mtv.com for the kid and all my young heroes saving LIC.
nothing overbearing this post, just a hearty hey ya and check me out more often cause i'm finna blog up a storm.
peace and new experiences...
hoursSERVED: 861
you ain't even gotta bring ya paper out /
we the dope boys of year; drinks is on the house [we in the house!]
the roc boys in the buildin' tonight [hey]
look at how i'm chillin', i'm killin' this ice [hey!] /
you ain't even gotta your purses out /
we the dope boys of year; drinks is on the house [we in the house, house, house...]
---
hiya, peoples. apologies on the lack of proper updates; it's been a wild four months to say the least. however, it's 2008 and i'm feeling bueno. the blog's gonna get a bit more jamaal-centric now that i've learned how to separate myself from my work (to SOME degree); however, i will be updating on my city year experience in depth on think.mtv.com. that being said, allow me to update you all on what's been good with the kid since you last tuned in:
~ city year: CYNY has been influential in guiding me towards my goal of affecting change in the LIC community. good folks, good people, terrible social scene tho. guess i'm really as old as i feel...
~ young heroes: we flippin MASSACRED recruitment this year. your boy hit the streets, slinging community service like cooked crack; and it worked. we've confirmed 95 students in young heroes in LIC alone (destroying our goal of 84) and 198 city-wide. shouts to my fellow heroes who have dedicated themselves to making this program pop off in 7 days.
~ wii: i've conquered that loser, kakarot, in DBZ budokai tenkaichi 3 and will now challenge folk worldwide with the saiyan prince. i'd call out, double G but he's STILL not worth my time. oh, and guitar hero is flipping dope.
THINK: CYNY has been chosen by MTV to launch its newest initiative: think.mtv.com. THINK is kinda like facebook for social activists; it allows folk to unite and educate themselves on various issues concerning social justice. from news articles to organizations to specific causes, THINK provides an interesting opportunity to learn about what's really going down in our world. plus, what's social networking without media? THINK offers folk to upload shots, clips, and blog their fingers off about what's affecting them. it's still in its nascent stages so it's kinda rough to navigate, but definitely give it a peep when you have some time. also, the bulk of my city year blogging will go there (at least the stuff that makes the company look good) so if you wanna catch up on my corps experience, look for it there.
oh, and since CYNY is such a G organization, MTV is sending us vid-cameras to document our corps experience to possibly be played on MTV sometime during the summer, so peep think.mtv.com for the kid and all my young heroes saving LIC.
nothing overbearing this post, just a hearty hey ya and check me out more often cause i'm finna blog up a storm.
peace and new experiences...
hoursSERVED: 861
9.29.2007
CITY|year: bomber dedication
no track for this one...nothing really fits.
---
it's a city year tradition to "earn" one's uniform for their service year. not necessarily to weed out the folks who are in it for the free timbos, but to offer corps members and staff an opportunity be introspective...to ponder on what brought them to city year and what will drive them thru a challenging 10 months. on the day before opening day, the day of our installation into americorps and city year, we hold a bomber dedication ceremony. the bomber is the most iconic portion of the city year uniform. it's nothing too special; a bright red windbreaker with the CY logo on the front, an american flag on one sleeve, the americorps logo on the other, and "city year" on the back. wait, i mistyped; it's nothing special to the average person. ignoring the simplicity of its design, what the bomber represents is the idealistic spirit that courses thru each member that wears it; it represents the pledge that each member has taken to devote their time and energy to enacting positive change in the communities they serve in; it represents that future that our country can achieve if service were put before conflict. to the children in the communities we serve, that bomber symbolizes love, support, and appreciation; that's special. as i said, we dedicate our bombers to whomever or for whatever we would like. and i was scared.
i didn't want to just do something hackneyed and trite because i take my year of service very seriously, regardless of whether others around me do not. i thought about the influences i've had, both positive and negative, and decided that when it came time for me to share who i was dedicating my bomber to, i would just speak. no forethought, no preparation, just talk and keep talking until...i dunno. i guess i didn't think about the ending. people before me were dedicating their bombers to friends, family, loved ones, past students, children, themselves...all of them were touching and beautiful. i held back tears on numerous occasions at the depth to which people were willing to expose themselves to people they've only known for at most, 3 weeks. we sat in a circle, fresh to death in our new uniforms, silently absorbing each other's passion, dedication, and hope. then it was my turn. and i was scared.
i swallowed hard. my throat tightened as if i no longer could control my heart (perhaps i couldn't...) and i just spoke.
"i dedicate my bomber and my year of service to my parents, my mother and father. for thru her unconditional affection and his constant absence, i know what true love is."
i felt them watching me. i hesitated before grabbing my bomber and unzipping it, awaiting more words, but nothing came out. when i put my bomber on, i felt wrong. wrong for mentioning my father at a place where such love and compassion were. wrong for even having him in my head at a time where we should focusing on what motivates us to do good things. and that's when i felt it...the coldness of hatred. and i was scared.
for those who may not know, i have a complicated relationship with my father. i don't know where i stand on a lot of issues with him, but i know that i cannot live with his burden...that's not fair. his burden of being a pisspoor father is not one that i must carry as his offspring, i know that, but to be real, he serves as the antithesis of what i hope to become. for 22 years (more or less) i've known little about the man that sired me except what my mother has told me. yea, she's biased, but then again so am i. but what shook me was the enmity i have for him...the amount of hate in my heart and my mind that...that keeps me focused and fueled. i feed off of my hatred for him and use that energy to teach love for all people? can it work that way? am i as hypocritical as i feel? i don't know...i don't know and i'm scared.
i never wanted to despise him...but i do. objectively, i should just talk to him, hear his side of the story, find out the truth from the source instead of relying on hearsay...but i don't want to. the funny thing about love and hate is that they are most often thought of as polar opposites; love = NOT hate and hate = NOT love. however, that's not the case. love and hate are both sources of motivation for our actions, only one gives you immediate gratification while the other one delays it; love is infectious while hate is poisonous...same idea, but our semantics skew our perceptions. i hate my father because it's easy, instant gratification; but i love him as well because he's a part of me and i damn sure do love myself (at times). so this internal conflict, this love/hate dance, truly represents what my service year is about. if i'm going to instill in these young heroes the importance of loving your neighbor as yourself, i'm going to have to force myself to do the same, especially because everyday i put that bomber on, i'm accepting his influence on me. it's not like me to back down from a challenge, but it's different when you ARE the challenge...it's scarier.
i dedicate my bomber and my year of service to my mother and my father....thru service, i hope that i can find peace and use it to kindle the spirit within me instead of a mix of love and hate.
i'm sorry for hating you and i'm sorry for loving you; i'm just scared.
---
it's a city year tradition to "earn" one's uniform for their service year. not necessarily to weed out the folks who are in it for the free timbos, but to offer corps members and staff an opportunity be introspective...to ponder on what brought them to city year and what will drive them thru a challenging 10 months. on the day before opening day, the day of our installation into americorps and city year, we hold a bomber dedication ceremony. the bomber is the most iconic portion of the city year uniform. it's nothing too special; a bright red windbreaker with the CY logo on the front, an american flag on one sleeve, the americorps logo on the other, and "city year" on the back. wait, i mistyped; it's nothing special to the average person. ignoring the simplicity of its design, what the bomber represents is the idealistic spirit that courses thru each member that wears it; it represents the pledge that each member has taken to devote their time and energy to enacting positive change in the communities they serve in; it represents that future that our country can achieve if service were put before conflict. to the children in the communities we serve, that bomber symbolizes love, support, and appreciation; that's special. as i said, we dedicate our bombers to whomever or for whatever we would like. and i was scared.
i didn't want to just do something hackneyed and trite because i take my year of service very seriously, regardless of whether others around me do not. i thought about the influences i've had, both positive and negative, and decided that when it came time for me to share who i was dedicating my bomber to, i would just speak. no forethought, no preparation, just talk and keep talking until...i dunno. i guess i didn't think about the ending. people before me were dedicating their bombers to friends, family, loved ones, past students, children, themselves...all of them were touching and beautiful. i held back tears on numerous occasions at the depth to which people were willing to expose themselves to people they've only known for at most, 3 weeks. we sat in a circle, fresh to death in our new uniforms, silently absorbing each other's passion, dedication, and hope. then it was my turn. and i was scared.
i swallowed hard. my throat tightened as if i no longer could control my heart (perhaps i couldn't...) and i just spoke.
"i dedicate my bomber and my year of service to my parents, my mother and father. for thru her unconditional affection and his constant absence, i know what true love is."
i felt them watching me. i hesitated before grabbing my bomber and unzipping it, awaiting more words, but nothing came out. when i put my bomber on, i felt wrong. wrong for mentioning my father at a place where such love and compassion were. wrong for even having him in my head at a time where we should focusing on what motivates us to do good things. and that's when i felt it...the coldness of hatred. and i was scared.
for those who may not know, i have a complicated relationship with my father. i don't know where i stand on a lot of issues with him, but i know that i cannot live with his burden...that's not fair. his burden of being a pisspoor father is not one that i must carry as his offspring, i know that, but to be real, he serves as the antithesis of what i hope to become. for 22 years (more or less) i've known little about the man that sired me except what my mother has told me. yea, she's biased, but then again so am i. but what shook me was the enmity i have for him...the amount of hate in my heart and my mind that...that keeps me focused and fueled. i feed off of my hatred for him and use that energy to teach love for all people? can it work that way? am i as hypocritical as i feel? i don't know...i don't know and i'm scared.
i never wanted to despise him...but i do. objectively, i should just talk to him, hear his side of the story, find out the truth from the source instead of relying on hearsay...but i don't want to. the funny thing about love and hate is that they are most often thought of as polar opposites; love = NOT hate and hate = NOT love. however, that's not the case. love and hate are both sources of motivation for our actions, only one gives you immediate gratification while the other one delays it; love is infectious while hate is poisonous...same idea, but our semantics skew our perceptions. i hate my father because it's easy, instant gratification; but i love him as well because he's a part of me and i damn sure do love myself (at times). so this internal conflict, this love/hate dance, truly represents what my service year is about. if i'm going to instill in these young heroes the importance of loving your neighbor as yourself, i'm going to have to force myself to do the same, especially because everyday i put that bomber on, i'm accepting his influence on me. it's not like me to back down from a challenge, but it's different when you ARE the challenge...it's scarier.
i dedicate my bomber and my year of service to my mother and my father....thru service, i hope that i can find peace and use it to kindle the spirit within me instead of a mix of love and hate.
i'm sorry for hating you and i'm sorry for loving you; i'm just scared.
9.22.2007
CITY|year: day.16
This puppet democracy brainwashed your psychology, /
So you're nothing like diversity with equality. //
---
oh dear, it's been a minute since i've written anything..but that's because of the hecticosity that city year has been providing. we began our third week at cyNY with BTR, or basic training retreat. when you boil that down it pretty much means that we were taken to a camp that offered bunzdoodoo food and slept in window-less cabins.
what a teambuilder.
the purpose of BTR is to talk about and prepare the corps for various issues revolving around diversity (*shudder*) and other issues of sensitivity. i didn't wanna enter the week negative, so i assumed the best; i looked forward to engaging and stimulating conversations about our prejudices and what we can do to ensure that we remain respectful of people's differences. instead, conversations focused on semi-philosophic drivel and giving certain folk an opportunity to do some frontal-lobe masturbation, ejaculating a series of statements used to either solidify their defenses or show off their acute sensitivity skills. suffice to say, i got little out of the weekend except a chance to view some corps members in a more natural environment, the people-watcher that i am, and legitimatley befriend other peers. people chose to deflect truly difficult issues like homosexuality, racism, and self-identity, offering little more than sound-bites and glib remarks about how "not racist" they are. even some of the workshops aired on the side of safety instead of probing a bit deeper. to be real, i woulda liked to see SOMEONE get offended or show a bit of emotion and then have it challenged instead of coddled. but i guess that's what the year is for...
i've been debating on whether or not to delve into another issue that BTR brought about...i'm on the fence only because i would like to believe that in time the issue will resolve itself. however, my gut says that it won't so do i bring it up? let me know the 4-6 of you that read this blog and make the decision for me; if y'all say yes, expect it in the next couple of days.
quick update on young heroes: the team is coming along nicely. we're still in our training regimen, YH practicum, and we enter our schools for the first time on monday (SUPER GASSED about that). as a group, the three heroes teams are definitely the most solid corps members and i can taste the incredible things we're gonna make happen this year. i'm in the process of deciding what role i wanna have on the team. i can do mostly anything, but my heart is calling me to try the service role or event/operations). E/O reminds me a lot of the programming that i had to do at the 'nell, coordinating events and being the point person. it would give me a chance to properly develop my delegation skills and give me a familiarity cushion. if i wanna push myself more, i should do service because i'll then be responsible for being the HDIC (head dude in charge) for all of the service projects that YH does, coordinating with the civic engagement team (NYCE!), and calling communities organizations for possible service projects. PLUS, the service projects will hafta relate to the topic for the day...mad pressure. i kinda wanna test the waters and do service, but we'll see what i choose...by tomorrow.
anyhoo, that's enough for one session...shout out BSP, SB for making me talk, and of course all the future young heroes. oh, and again, if there's a city year site in your area, PLEASE look out for and attend a service day (http://www.cityyear.org), you won't be disappointed.
still reppin'....HE-ROES!
PS: free the jena six...
So you're nothing like diversity with equality. //
---
oh dear, it's been a minute since i've written anything..but that's because of the hecticosity that city year has been providing. we began our third week at cyNY with BTR, or basic training retreat. when you boil that down it pretty much means that we were taken to a camp that offered bunzdoodoo food and slept in window-less cabins.
what a teambuilder.
the purpose of BTR is to talk about and prepare the corps for various issues revolving around diversity (*shudder*) and other issues of sensitivity. i didn't wanna enter the week negative, so i assumed the best; i looked forward to engaging and stimulating conversations about our prejudices and what we can do to ensure that we remain respectful of people's differences. instead, conversations focused on semi-philosophic drivel and giving certain folk an opportunity to do some frontal-lobe masturbation, ejaculating a series of statements used to either solidify their defenses or show off their acute sensitivity skills. suffice to say, i got little out of the weekend except a chance to view some corps members in a more natural environment, the people-watcher that i am, and legitimatley befriend other peers. people chose to deflect truly difficult issues like homosexuality, racism, and self-identity, offering little more than sound-bites and glib remarks about how "not racist" they are. even some of the workshops aired on the side of safety instead of probing a bit deeper. to be real, i woulda liked to see SOMEONE get offended or show a bit of emotion and then have it challenged instead of coddled. but i guess that's what the year is for...
i've been debating on whether or not to delve into another issue that BTR brought about...i'm on the fence only because i would like to believe that in time the issue will resolve itself. however, my gut says that it won't so do i bring it up? let me know the 4-6 of you that read this blog and make the decision for me; if y'all say yes, expect it in the next couple of days.
quick update on young heroes: the team is coming along nicely. we're still in our training regimen, YH practicum, and we enter our schools for the first time on monday (SUPER GASSED about that). as a group, the three heroes teams are definitely the most solid corps members and i can taste the incredible things we're gonna make happen this year. i'm in the process of deciding what role i wanna have on the team. i can do mostly anything, but my heart is calling me to try the service role or event/operations). E/O reminds me a lot of the programming that i had to do at the 'nell, coordinating events and being the point person. it would give me a chance to properly develop my delegation skills and give me a familiarity cushion. if i wanna push myself more, i should do service because i'll then be responsible for being the HDIC (head dude in charge) for all of the service projects that YH does, coordinating with the civic engagement team (NYCE!), and calling communities organizations for possible service projects. PLUS, the service projects will hafta relate to the topic for the day...mad pressure. i kinda wanna test the waters and do service, but we'll see what i choose...by tomorrow.
anyhoo, that's enough for one session...shout out BSP, SB for making me talk, and of course all the future young heroes. oh, and again, if there's a city year site in your area, PLEASE look out for and attend a service day (http://www.cityyear.org), you won't be disappointed.
still reppin'....HE-ROES!
PS: free the jena six...
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