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





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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...

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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...

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