dear markus zusak,

just read the book thief and while it's still fresh in my mind, i have to tell you that it didn't reeeeally live up to my expectations. maybe if i let it simmer for a bit, i'll end up studying it and mulling it over in my mind to the point where i actually like it, but for now, i've read better.

maybe it was because this is a book for young adults. maybe it's because my favourite book in the entire world takes place during the holocaust so, really, i have extremely high expectations and standards when it comes to books like these. but, at the end of the day, i don't really know.

i will say, though, that i did come to love liesel. i did come to appreciate her relationships with hans, max, rudy, rosa and ilsa. in fact, all her relationships were enticing and beautiful in their own unique ways and every time i thought of how much this book was not living up its hype, i was drawn in by her friendships and the characters you created. rudy's my favourite.

thanks for this. i think i've come to realize that perhaps i shouldn't let my expectations be dictated by hype.

CML

p.s. i won't say much about the fact that Death narrated the story. i will say, though, that he and max spoke some pretty beautiful words.

new york city checklist

Drink eggnog on a Central Park bench


Go to Serendipity and try their famous frozen hot chocolate


Browse 5th Ave. 


Take a picture by that ginormous tree at Rockefeller Plaza


Visit the NBC and Nintendo store.

3 more sleeps

finally starting to get excited to cruise on over to paradise. i'll see you in approximately 3 more sleeps! and here i was starting to get worried that i wasn't getting excited. 

i'll be wearing sunglasses and flip flops in december. life is gonna be good.

our liberty is bound together

This masterpiece was done by my friend, Kim Villagante and man, is it a beauty. It was based on the quote: our liberty is bound together and after listening to music and reading numerous quotes that I threw out to her, her vision came together and manifested into this. It's so beautiful and so inspiring. The orange and yellow stand out so nicely from the blues and the struggle for peace at the top is exactly what I wanted to capture. It's amazing. I could probably talk and write about it of hours, but alas, time is difficult to find nowadays.

Never forget: our liberty is bound together.

in the news: 121211 edition

Mexico: Shootout Kills 11 Gunmen

This drug war is legitimately scaring the shit out of me. The news tends to report crimes as if they exist as far away and not close, but the Mexican drug war brings this fear to North America. Although we know this problem exists, not hearing it in the media somehow makes it easier. Now that it's making it onto major news outlets and is actually being written about it, the fear and the panic is growing larger and larger. While I think it's great that people are becoming more and more aware of the drug war and its effects on Mexican, Canadian and American governments, I fear for reporters and bloggers who are constantly being abused, tortured and killed in Mexico. Stay brave.

december slacker progress list

movies: 

50/50 - tear-jerker & all-around awesome

hunger

like crazy  - underwhelming.

drive - killer cast. ryan gosling and carey mulligan are fantastic. killer story. OOH wordplay.

crazy stupid love

network

books: 

a mad desire to dance - elie wiesel - i have underlined almost every sentence i have read.
the book thief - markus zusak

tv: 

community season 2 

new girl
once upon a time

in the news: 121011 edition

"You can unlock the potential of India's most oppressed girls, but where are they going to use it?" (Globe and Mail)

 this article hits all the right heart strings for me. a woman educating girls who WANT to be educated, who WANT to learn but who struggle every day to gain this luxury i tend to always take for granted. that's the dream right there; teaching girls like them is the dream.


i empathize with their struggle though. being educated is a luxury and choosing whether to use what you've learned to benefit yourself or to benefit your community is difficult. 


all i can say is that let these girls cross that bridge when they get there. i agree that their futures are in question and they will struggle making choices usually reserved for wiser and more mature. can we first, however, focus on helping them shape and sharpen the tools with which to make these decisions?


my favourite parts: 

She decided to bring in one or two girls from each community in a four-hour radius. When they first come to her they are shy and hunched, like the parents who waited at the gates. But six months later, they have begun to learn that they have every right to take up space – to have ideas, expectations and ambitions.
Yet Sister Sudha's anxiety as the girls leave for Dushera hints at the deep fissure that runs through her experiment: Her girls are now caught between their old lives and their new potential. They have learned to dream, but their families, their villages and India itself have little place for a Mushahar girl with dreams. Now, they stand out – and when you are Mushahar and female, that's rarely a good thing.

She is immensely proud of her daughter, who is now in charge of reading any paperwork the family needs for government welfare programs. The sole decoration on their walls is a clock Poonam won in a debating competition. 

Other people have their ideas, but caste isn't going to stop her from doing what she wants – going to university, getting a job, having an independent life. “It's just about what you have in your mind,” she says quietly.

one month off...

and i can't wait to divide my time between TV shows, movies, books, video games and unit plans.

i'm stoked for you, december.

last conversation with steinbeck

as i embark on what should be my last conversation with john steinbeck, at least in terms of east of eden, i have to say that i really don't want to start reading because i don't want my stopping to be end of this book.

now that i'm finally finished, i can most definitely say that east of eden is one of the most important books i have ever read.

above all, it has made me question depravity, love and the choices we make when we attempt to run away or toward both.

thank you.

a fall in energy

it was such an innocent beginning. to look upon another's adventures and mission manifested in such beauty and with such conviction makes one reflect on the lack of both in oneself. 

perhaps that's what happened tonight. i think i've just suffered from a lack of conviction in what i'm doing. i'm conflicted.

where does my heart lie? part of it pulls towards the margins of the world where a new life and a new love awaits. i can feel it. but part of it anchors me home. it anchors me here. 

it started so innocently. and now mind, heart and soul are in such conflict. lesson learned. i cannot let my mind wander to the adventures of others while the practicality of life does not allow for me to wander with them.

continuing conversations with steinbeck part II

"the word 'timshel' - 'thou mayest' that gives a choice. it might be the most important word int he world. that says the way is open. that throws it right back on the man. for if 'thou mayest' - it is also true that 'thou mayest not'"

herein lies the greatest gift humanity was and is given. the power to choose. just because we were born of sin and of guilt does not automatically mean we are pre-destined towards it. rather, we choose, actively and constantly, to act good or bad and to deal with the consequences accordingly.

continuing conversations with steinbeck

as i continue to read east of eden, i am constantly struck with a) how pretentious i must sound when i talk about how i'm reading east of eden and b) the glorious questions that his words keep presenting with page after page.

i just read lee, samuel and adam's conversation about sin and was quite struck with how it made me feel. not only do i want to begin reading the bible but also, it made me reflect on the meaning of the passage.

god saved cain.

what does that say about us, his children? if we believe the story, we, ourselves, are all descendants of cain. the first murderer. the man who lived after murdering his brother, abel, and passed his guilt unto us. are we doomed to be enveloped in sin and guilt because of the sin of our ancestor?

are we doomed to sin?

our memory as humans was forged out of cain's sin but if we choose to see history in a different way, perhaps the true meaning lies in the humanity being forged out g-d's mercy and forgiveness. perhaps the present, our lives, are meant to act in order to redeem cain and humanity. after all, in his infinite wisdom, there must be a reason why

god. saved. cain.

the active process of learning

This is a concept that I did not understand til I entered into the teaching profession and it continues to be a concept that I am struggling and working to fully comprehend. Learning is, as cheesy as it sounds, an active process and a journey. knowledge is not the destination but the journey which manifests itself in continuous questions and analysis.

Knowledge is ACTION. It should be classified as a verb because there is no closure, no stop to it unless you, yourself, make a conscious decision to form your mind around the schemas that exist within it and refuse to think outside of them.

Remember: what you pour into your heart, mind and soul will be the source you identify as you continue living. Let it be knowledge.

purpose

some people go through their entire lives not knowing their purpose, their life's meaning. others argue that there's really no such thing. but in the past two weeks, i have come to know mine. i have never felt so comfortable than at the head of a classroom. i am lucky that in 22 years, i finally was given the chance to live my purpose and to believe that i am on the path to what i truly want to do for the rest of my life.

dear John Steinbeck,

I haven't finished East of Eden yet, but the conversation I am having with you and your infinite wisdom is making me question everything.

Thank you.

my career summed up in a YouTube video

"Those who tell the stories hold the power."

- Plato

it upsets me to realize that not everyone believes in the equality that exists between humans. it upsets me that people do not see the value and worth of an African as equal to the value and worth of an American.

i understand the nationalism. in fact, i am almost envious of it being from Canada where nationalism, arguably, is not as significant in society as in other countries. i, however, believe that above our differing religions, cultures, races, genders, sexualities etc. we are all humans first. regardless of these differences, we are all classified as human. is it so hard to, first and foremost, belong to this group first? i'll admit, there are instances where i do not think about how my actions or words will affect a human, not only in close vicinity to me, but a human halfway around the world. i am aware of this. and i am trying to look past the negative effect of consumerism, personal practicality etc. that blind me and that keep me from helping my brothers and sisters.

i think we all have to become aware of our fallacies and aware of our own inadequacies when it comes to caring for our fellow human. by ignoring this, or by claiming that equality is a misplaced ideal, or by just being plain ignorant, we indirectly (or, in some cases, directly) become a facet of people's suffering.

the apprehension of joseph kony

should NOT be a national interest issue. 

is should be a human interest issue and one that continues to stay at the forefront of news, discussion and debate.

wisdom from tom shadyac

Just browsing Tom Shadyac's blog tonight and came upon this brilliant passage from one of his posts.

Inside you is the same infinite energy that created the universe.  As the modern mystic, Irwin Kula, knew, “Everything is god in drag.”

So the next time you’re told you need to be somebody, rest in the knowledge that you already are.  Hafiz implores us to wake up to this truth when he says: “I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.”

'Everything is god in drag.' What a loaded quote. I've reflected and have come to the conclusion that removing religion or faith in something (even if it is nothing) from this quote is quite impossible. If I am to apply this quote to what I believe, I cannot help but be relieved by its statement. In a couple of sentences, I believe that god comes from the goodness of people; god is present in everyone because everyone is born with the potential to do good. Whether that diminishes or grows over time can be a result of one's environment, but that core potential is there and, thus, god is everywhere. He/she/whatever is just present in differing levels and moods. So yes, god is indeed in drag. He/she/whatever wears whatever face each human is presenting to the world that day. God is everywhere.

And thank GOD that I don't need to be anyone else than who I am right in this very moment. I AM somebody. I must remain focused on who I am and what I can do rather than who I am not and what I cannot. This is something I struggle with. My mind wanders and imagines what life would be like if I was someone else or if I was doing something else. But I'm not. I am here. I am who I am and I cannot change that. I must be proud. We are all capable of such amazing things by harnessing our own selves and it is my hope that we awaken to this potential and translate it into bettering the world somehow.

occupy the classroom

  

Teachers hold our nation’s future right in front of them, as they serve 30—or at the high school level, 150—students per day. We teach academic subjects and implicitly share values and beliefs. Yet, society still devalues our importance in the development of children—paying us with lip service, handshakes, and thank-a-teacher projects, while simultaneously slipping us pink pieces of paper by the thousands. Add in the continued narrowing of our curricula, and we have a dangerous recipe that’s educating children to believe learning is only necessary for commerce.

Many teachers are protesting the direction education is heading, but we need a broader Occupy the Classroom movement to help us become the true leaders of our profession. Teachers as a whole don’t occupy—they are preoccupied. In English, that means "busy with other things often at the exclusion of other things." In Spanish, a more apt translation is "worried."

Teachers live in a space where they worry about every move they make—fearful that some administrator might come out of the bushes with a rubric that decides they're not proficient. We are preoccupied with unproven fads from the latest big expert or CEO selling a pre-packaged placebo, and it’s taking our schools down an ominous, robotic, and scripted road. via GOOD

It truly is a shame that more people either do not realize the effect or undervalue teachers have on youth. The best of teachers represent the best of society and we must begin to allow them to take control of the classroom; one teacher can make or break a student and by failing to recognize and appreciate them, we, in a sense, forsake our own futures. 

our liberty is bound together.

It was only a few hours ago that the Invisible Children celebrated a huge win when the President of the United States, Barack Obama, announced that 100 American advisors were to liaise with the Ugandan Military in order to apprehend and remove Joseph Kony and other top-ranking members of the Lord's Resistance Army from the battlefield.

I will admit that when I first read the headline of the Al Jazeera article which stated, "Obama sends US combat troops to Uganda", I was a tad apprehensive. I am a firm believer in providing people with the ability to help themselves rather than through monetary aid and donations when it comes to situations like this. But I continued reading and was immediately comforted by these quotes:

"Although the US forces are combat-equipped,they will only be providing information, advice and assistance to partner nation forces.  

They will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defence. All appropriate precautions have been taken to ensure the safety of US military personnel during their deployment" - Barack Obama

“To be clear, the 100 troops deployed are being sent in an advisory role, to support and augment the Ugandan Military with technology and strategy. They will not be involved in any offensive action. So any reference to an invasion or new war by the United States is absolutely ridiculous. This is a step in the right direction that we should all be proud of as Americans.” - Jedidiah Jenkins

Invisible Children has been SO influential in this decision and I, and many others, I'm sure, consider this a humongous win. I'm so incredibly proud of everyone at Invisible Children for all the work that has been done to secure THIS win, past wins and the future wins that are to come. We can do this.

Every war has an end.

The Fire - Katherine Neville

I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with this book. On numerous occasions when I felt like putting it down and giving up, I rallied because of the hope that it would get better.

It didn't.

And as a firm believer in the strength of the protagonist, there just wasn't any in Alexandra. She was no Cat Velis. I found her to be depending wholly on Vartan, Nokomis, Nim, her mother, her father, her boss, etc. etc. etc. She didn't have any agency as the main character. It's too bad, really. The book is definitely well-researched and Neville knows what she's talking about when it comes to chess, history, and geography, but the places she could've gone with this book were just never reached.

the pacific northwest roadies pay vancouver a visit

My heart is absolutely swelling with love after spending time with the Roadies. They make me so proud an they humble me with their hard work, generosity and enthusiasm. They have re-ignited my belief in the agency of youth and only make my faith in the goodness of people stronger. 

They are, quite literally, the movers and shakers. They are, as one person said tonight, doing the job the media has forgotten to do or has completely, purposely ignored. They are, without a doubt, messengers of empathy and they're on a rollercoaster ride that will change the world. I can only hope that Invisible Children will allow me to eventually jump on that rollercoaster with them.

the price of oppressing your women.

The following quotes are taken from a Al Jazeera article:

"At the top of the list - the "Best Places to be a Woman" - we see the usual suspects: Iceland and the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Canada. On that planet, we see rankings in the upper 90s for the survey's five categories: Justice, health, education, economics, and politics.

Women are out-earning men in college degrees (United States), domestic abusers are being banned from their homes and tracked with electronic monitors (Turkey), and female prime ministers are being elected (Denmark and Australia).

Now look at the other planet, "The Worst Places in the World to be a Woman". In Chad, the worst of the worst, women have "almost no legal rights", and girls as young as ten are legally married off, which is also true in Niger, the seventh worst place for a woman. Most women in Mali - the fifth worst - have been traumatised by female genital mutilation. In Democratic Republic of Congo, 1,100 women are raped every day. In Yemen, you are free to beat your wife whenever you like."

"When poor countries choose to oppress their own women, they are to some extent choosing their own continued poverty. Female oppression is a moral issue; but it also must be seen as a choice that countries make for short-term "cultural" comfort, at the expense of long-term economic and social progress."

"It is not politically correct to attribute any share of very poor countries' suffering to their own decisions. But it is condescending to refuse to hold many of them partly responsible for their own plight. Obviously, the legacy of colonialism - widespread hunger, illiteracy, lack of property or legal recourse, and vulnerability to state violence - is a major factor in their current poverty. But how can we blame that legacy while turning a blind eye to a kind of colonialism against women in these same countries' private homes and public institutions?"

"If you are not innumerate, you can start a business. If you are not living in mortal fear of rape and beatings at home, you can organise your community to dig a new well. If you are not subjecting your daughter to traumatic genital injury at three and marrying her off at ten, she can go to school. And, when she does marry and has children of her own, they will benefit from two educated, employed parents, which means twice as much literate conversation in the home, twice the contacts, and twice the encouragement to succeed.

Educated, pushy mothers make all the difference.

As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put it in the Newsweek issue, "The world needs to think more strategically and creatively about tapping into women's potential for growth. Studies show that helping women access trade and grow businesses helps create jobs and boost incomes."

But on Planet Worst, forcing terrified, uneducated women to remain at home is more socially acceptable than facing the fact that this means choosing to drag down incomes for everyone. It is time to stop tiptoeing around the poorest countries' responsibility to do something essential about their own plight: Emancipate their women."

This article just spells it out in brilliant fashion. The education of women is underrated in what the article calls "Planet Worst" countries. When we allow women to expand out of the private sphere and into the public, we add 51% of the population to the labour force thus improving the economy. If we look at it from a strictly economic standpoint, this makes absolute sense. These countries are sacrificing economy for the cultural past. Does it say in your rulebook that you cannot make new traditions? That you cannot change or adapt? Do not adapt for the West's sake. Adapt for your own. Emancipate your women. Their education will better your country.

labels.

Privilege and oppression are around us every day. Because of society, we have these scripts, these preconceived notions of people based on their socially constructed differences. And yes, these may never go away, but it definitely aids personal development and growth if we become aware of our differences and immerse ourselves in them.

Some believe that the best method of addressing differences is to completely ignore them and say that everyone is equal because everyone is the same. Everyone shares their humanity. While this is true, merely doing this only perpetuates the dominant culture. By ignoring differences, we say that they don't matter. We become colorblind and, as such, we don't see the entire picture. Slapping a label on someone or pushing a stereotype onto them only perpetuates societal colorblindness. Not only does it damage society, but it takes away a person's agency to define who they truly are through their own actions.

These stereotypes can't be ignored. They're everywhere. But we need to open our minds and realize that humanity is beautiful because it is comprised of different souls and beings. We are beautiful in our differences and it is our duty as human beings to respect and accept each other for who we are.

See the person. And, above all, show them love.

We are the 99%

I have spent the last two days at the Occupy Wall Street gathering. It was a beautiful display of peaceful action: so much kindness and gentleness in the camp, so much belief in our world and democracy. And so many different kinds of people all looking for a chance at the dream that America had promised them.
When people critique this movement and say spurious things about the protesters’ clothes or their jobs or the general way they look, they are showing how shallow we have become as a nation. They forget that these people have taken time out of their lives to stand up for values that are purely American and in the interest of our democracy. They forget that these people are encamped in an urban park, where they are not allowed to have tents or other normal camping gear. They are living far outside their comfort zone to protect and celebrate liberty, equality and the rule of law.
It is a thing of beauty to see so many people in love with the ideal of democracy, so alive with its promise, so committed to its continuity in the face of crony capitalism and corporate rule. That should be celebrated. It should be respected and admired.
Their message is very clear and simple: get money out of the political process; strive for equality in taxation and equal rights for all regardless of race, gender, social status, sexual preference or age. We must stop poisoning our food, air and water for corporate greed. The people on Wall Street and in the banking industrial complex that destroyed our economy must be investigated and brought to justice under the law for what they have done by stealing people’s homes and savings.
Jobs can and must be created. Family farms must be saved. The oil and gas industry must be divested of its political power and cheap, reliable alternative energy must be made available.
This movement transcends political affiliations. America has been debased and degraded by greed. This has touched 99% of America’s population. The other 1% is doing just fine – with more than a third of the wealth of this nation. We all know people who have been hurt by the big rip-off. We all know people who have lost their jobs or their homes. We all know people who have had to go and fight wars that seem to have no objective and no end – leaving families for years on end without fathers, mothers, sons and daughters.
The 99% of us have paid a dear price so that 1% could become the wealthiest people in the world. We all pay insanely high energy prices while we see energy companies making record profits, year after year. We live with great injustices in the land of justice. We live with great lawlessness in the land of the law.
It’s time to check ourselves, to see if we still have that small part that believes in the values that America promises. Do we still have a shred of our decency intact in the face of debasement? If you do, then now is the time to give that forgotten part a voice.That is what this movement is ultimately about: giving voice to decency and fairness.
I invite anyone and all to participate in this people’s movement to regain your dignity and what you have worked for in this capitalist society. Each of us is of great value to the whole. Do not forget your greatness. Even when the world around you is telling you you are nothing. You have a voice. You want a better life for your children and the people you love. You live in a democracy. You belong, and you deserve a world that is fair and equal. You have a right to take your place and be heard.
Show up at an Occupy Wall Street gathering in any major city in the US. Hit your social media outlets. Tweet it. Facebook it. Talk it up. It’s easy to do nothing, but your heart breaks a little more every time you do.

If I had to add anything on to this beautiful piece of writing, it would be that you should never forget that regardless of what nation you live in, what religion you believe in, what culture you imbibe, how much money is in your pocket or your definition of family, we are all brothers and sisters in humanity. It is worth remembering that human emotion: hurt, joy, suffering and the ability to love cross between the lines of class, culture and the other minute differences that separate us. Whether you choose to express this empathy on a local, national or international level, however, is up to you.

How are people supposed to be assertive with their friends?

I don't get why you are so intent on pushing me to be mean to you. I try to be nice. I try to accommodate your behaviour as best as possible; I even resort to being passive, but you are so intent on making me not want to be your friend and act aggressively towards you. Is that what you want? Is that the behaviour you're trying to elicit from me?

I'm above that. I'm above your poking and your prodding and I am trying my best to think about how I'm going to reply to you. I know you're not an asshole. And yet, you continue to think that this type of behaviour will get you attention and will make me want to foster a closer friendship with you. What you need to realize is that, if anything, it's pushing me away.

Grow up.

music.

There are times when I just can't get over how the human body can make such beautiful sounds.

Senegalese Rappers Become Political Voices

This article is so cool because it shows just how powerful music can be. It can soothe a soul, or engage people in a dialogue about the state of their nation. These guys are not politicians. They're not 'adults'. They are the youth. They are the disturbers, the shakers and they will be the impetus for change in Senegal and a model for hope throughout the world.

DAKAR, Senegal — A revolution led by rappers says something about a country’s politics or its music, or maybe both.
Senegalese rappers and other members of Y'En A Marre marched during a rally in July in Dakar.

In Senegal, the political mainstream appears stagnant and the musicians anything but, which explains why laid-back musicians with stage names like Fou Malade (“Crazy Sick Guy”) and Thiat (“Junior”) are leading a vigorous demonstration movement against the country’s octogenarian president, who does not want to leave office.

zambikes.

It is always important to remember that it is somewhat dangerous only knowing a single story. Some times, people get wrapped in seeing Africa as a single body; they see it as a continent faced with deep suffering, poverty, disease, corruption, violence, and war. While true, people forget to celebrate the positives that do come from Africa and I believe that it is absolutely important to know these stories as well. They are filled with resilience, hard work, community and culture, something that is absent from the majority of narratives portrayed within the media.

That's why this story really resounded with me. It's one of few stories based out of the continent as of late that present hope. An organization based out of Zambia has begun using their resources to build bikes. Not only have they sold 8 000 metal bikes, and 900 bicycle ambulances across Southern Africa, they have also sold 200 bamboo bicycle frames worldwide. Their goal is to sell these bikes, at an affordable price, to people who need a means of transportation in Zambia. SO, not only are they environmentally conscious, but are looking to provide for and help others. This is beautiful. I, wholeheartedly, believe that grassroots companies such as these are going to a be a significant reason why Africa's economy recovers in the future.

Check out the original article I took this info from HERE and the Zambikes website HERE

empathy.

Empathy. Empathy. Empathy.

A word that has been drilled into me since August 4th and it is as if everywhere I go, I receive constant reminders to evolve into a better empathetic citizen. Granted, this is difficult. It is hard to be empathetic when you, yourself, are not in a state of mind where you care about others. This happens. It happens to me far more than I would like to admit and far more than I wish it did. But I take some comfort in being aware of my own fallacy. I take comfort in knowing that the attempt is there.

After all, humanity is precisely like a human body and taking our empathy into account, when one part of our body suffers and is in pain, the entire body is uncomfortable. I can only hope that more and more become aware of pain and become a part of the healing process.

knowledge

This man, Socrates, is probably one of the most brilliant men or women that has ever traipsed the earth of this planet and yet he has claimed that he knows absolutely nothing.

This is the burden of knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge is purely for masochists. It is miserable because in gaining knowledge, one allows for the acknowledgement that more and more questions exist. Knowledge is insatiable and true wisdom instills in humans the ability to realize that with further knowledge comes further ignorance. What irony. Knowledge breeds ignorance because knowledge is an awareness of one's own ignorance. 

What a beautiful, powerful and frustrating concept. 

agency.

one of my professors today said something that, in one poignant collection of words, summed up my entire reason for becoming a teacher.

i am, of course, paraphrasing it, but it went something along the lines of this: social studies help students understand the world and the stories of the people that live in it. it teaches its students how the past has affected our present and how our present will predict our future. but most of all, social studies teachers should aim to allow their students to believe that they have agency. they should believe that they can act on the world and change it.

this is my life's goal. i so desperately desire to show others, especially our youth, that they have power. they have agency. they change the world just by living in it and they should use whatever talents, skills, brilliances they have in their every being to positively change humanity.

gossamer clouds and asper hells

the god i believe in does not rest,
does not lend a lazy ear
to his servants and heralds on the ground
whilst atop his gossamer cloud.

he is in the eyes,
the heart,
the soul of the empathic citizen
who hears
the sorrow and suffering
of those on the margins of the universe.
who moves
one foot in front of the other
until a hand can be stretched
to the rejected, the ignored,
the innocent.
who pulls them out
from their asper hell
and guides them back to life.

this is god.
not buried in the bible,
or preaching in the pulpit.
god resides in the one who cries out,
'i hear your sorrow,
your suffering,
and i am here:
your hope manifested
in human.'

My Letter to Ellen DeGeneres (in 1500 characters or less)

Hi Ellen,

My story begins and will, hopefully, end with Invisible Children. In the past, I had always been bombarded with the idea that selfishness IS the human condition. We are made to be selfish and in being so, positive change on an international level is impossible. So, even though my soul yearned for change, this pessimistic worldview suppressed it.

Enter Invisible Children. IC is a movement dedicated to ending Joseph Kony and the Lord Resistance Army's atrocities in Central Africa. We are currently working to fund a Protection Plan which involves building FM radio towers in remote areas in the Congo and Central African Republic in order to warn villages of attacks by the rebel army.

This August, Invisible Children held a conference called the Fourth Estate and it changed my life. It led me to believe that faith in justice and in people's willingness to do good should never disappear. We are all capable of alleviating the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world.

I want to be on the Ellen Show because not only does IC need people to help fund the Protection Plan but also because the WORLD needs more people to realize their potential. I need Ellen's voice to help others understand that they need to use theirs in order to speak for those whose voices have been taken away from them.

Having Ellen on my side would be the equivalent of a knockout love punch! With her, our message will reach millions of people.

Please visit www.invisiblechildren.com.

humility

the past lived in a bubble
of desperation,
suffering from an addiction
to attention.

but i escaped.
met with kindred souls,
heralds of peace
whose hearts overflowed,
overjoyed with love,
with goodness that broke my own soul
blanketed in shame.
into millions of pieces
lying in a pool of complacent tears.

i am no greatness.
i am no genius
no savior.

i am humbled.
i am new.
with eyes and soul awakened.
tabula rasa at blankest.

patience.

The patience that comes with balancing practicality with dream opportunities is suffocating.

I must hold steady. My time will come. I must wait for when both my mind and my heart are fully content with the decisions I choose to make.

saturday morning news

I am extremely inspired and somewhat comforted by several news articles that I read today.

One surrounded a teenage girl who is running a clandestine library from her locker because her school has banned books such as Animal Farm and The Catcher in the Rye. Her pureness of heart and reason for action was so inspiring to read. She plainly believes that everyone should have access to books and the ability to read. The simplicity in her belief is what makes it so strong and although she may be too young to understand, she is, now, an advocate for freedom and an enemy of censorship. I dig it. Read it HERE

I also read the story of Masika, a woman in the Congo who is running a shelter for women who have been raped and brutalized by local militiamen. It is clear to see that this woman has suffered from the worst violences a human can commit and yet, her hope in the work she is doing remains steadfast and strong. She is a beacon of hope for all women who suffer in the Congo. Regardless of her own pain, her own hardships, her own tears, she continues to believe in her calling to serve others. It is a reminder to me that I must use my privilege in order to benefit others as well. Who am I to sit here and do nothing when I have not suffered even a small fraction of what Masika has suffered and she is doing more to better the people and world around her?

Lastly, I read that Angelina Jolie was present at the Thomas Lubanga trial as a 'concerned citizen.' She spoke to many former child soldiers and expressed her disbelief at the fact that the world has not done more to aid children that have been kidnapped and forced to fight. I am comforted by her presence at this trial. It shows that there are celebrities using their status to learn more about the world in order to better it.

These stories continue to prove that there are superheroes out there. There are women of all different backgrounds, histories and ages working to positively change the world and I have no doubt in my mind that they will do just that.

My heart is absolutely uplifted and continues to fill with the hope that this world is being directed towards a more positive and loving direction.

regretting love

"A wife can revile such a man with every silent curse she knows. But she can't throw stones. A stone would fly straight through him and strike the child made in his image, clipping an eye or a tongue or an outstretched hand." - Barbara Kingsolver via The Poisonwood Bible


This collection of words made me reflect on how sad regretting love must be for two individuals who share a child or children. Regret is such a powerful emotion and to tie that to love, supposedly the most powerful positive emotion a human could possibly feel is extremely heartbreaking.

Coming across children who have been negatively affected by divorce and their parents' falling out of love, I have to wholeheartedly agree with Kingsolver. A child feels, hears, sees everything that occurs between their parents regardless of whether they are in the same room. Tension reverberates through walls and the things he or she or they see occur between their parents will stay with them for the rest of their lives and affect them and their relationships in unpredictable and, perhaps, damaging ways.

It is difficult to fall out of love especially when what was your love produced someone as beautiful and precious as your child. I can only pray that people who are in love, stay in love.

Stay patient and attempt understanding to the best of your ability. Most of all, keep loving. We can only hope that love really does conquer over anger and that it will, through time, heal even the worst regrets, memories, and pain.

memory

"I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time." - Banksy

i love memory and the idea of remembering. i believe that some of the most astounding life moments is when you suddenly remember something you have forgotten: a face, a name, a fact, a lesson or even something as relatively minuscule as an errand meant for fifteen minutes later.

the idea of remembering the past or an upcoming event in the future is extremely precious to me. perhaps, that is why i insist on pouring out my brain into books and papers constantly because i have a fear of forgetting. perhaps, that is why i have such an intense lust and insatiable appetite for history. people and their stories deserve to be remembered. no one and nothing should ever have the power to erase one's story. and while i cannot stand the idea of forgetting, one of my greatest fears is to be forgotten, being erased from any story.

i am here. i live. and while i live, i must live a life that demands explanation. for when i greet hades, i want, not only to not be forgotten, but for my life to mean something joyful and positive in its remembrance.

words to live by.

on child soldiers

Lately, I have attempted to educate myself on child soldiers. I’ve tried to find out why they’re used, how they’re used and what’s being done about it. I’ve read. I’ve Googled and Wiki-ed and, to be honest, I think I’ve saturated my brain with so much information that it’s become absolutely inflamed with anger about the apathy.

Granted, I’m far from knowing everything that’s going on in the world and the shitty things that are happening in my own city. But this just pisses me off.

Kids, as young as 9 and 10, are being given AK-47’s, are being manipulated into taking drugs and drinking alcohol, and are being trained to kill in order to suit the needs of a man whose main desire is complete and total power. They’re used as pawns. They’re put on the front lines in order to distract and deter the enemy from attacking. They’re used in order as dummies to test fields for land mines. They’re used as sexual objects and for menial tasks like laundering, cooking, cleaning, and whatever else is needed in the bush.

If they’re freed from the bush, attempts are made in order to reintegrate them into society. But reintegrate them into what society exactly? These societies aren’t exactly stable or adequate. Some communities don’t even accept these little boys and girls, especially if they’re pregnant, have children, or have killed. The stigma surrounding these children often forces them back into the bush and into the camps and beds of these warlords. At least they are somewhat protected and respected there.

Romeo Dallaire urges people to think about the potential these soldiers could hold. While they’ve gone through immense traumas and psychological pain, the tools they’ve unintentionally learned could help foster a new generation of youth. Young women that have led troops into combat could assert these leadership skills in more productive and beneficial ways. In studies regarding child soldiers, young girls are often ignored; they’re often absent from these studies. When they’re written about, they are almost always talked about as victims of rape and warlords’ sex objects and wives. But what about their potential? Imagine the power of a young woman who battles through the demons caused by this trauma. Imagine the strength.

I’m not saying that every kid that escapes the bush will be able to harness what they’ve learned in a positive way. I’m not even saying that they should. I’m just saying that the possibilities are absolutely endless. Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years. The pain he must have went through is unsurmountable. Yet, in 1994, he led South Africa out of apartheid and inspired the world to seek equality.

Is it idealistic to imagine a world for these kids that is better? Maybe. But a former child soldier has said, “The reason why we believe that change is possible is not because we are idealists but because we believe we have made it, so other people can make it as well.”

If you’re reading this, I really hope that you don’t forget it. I hope you don’t move on to the next thing because this is so important. You’re probably young and feel in your gut that you have the ability to change the world. Everyone has that gut feeling every once in a while. Change the status quo and make people care. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to make you care about the boy and girl somewhere in Africa who is, at this moment, carrying an AK-47 ready and willing to kill someone with it. Or about the young girl in Asia or Eastern Europe who was kidnapped, pumped with drugs and forced into prostitution. Or that teenager in the States or Canada who, because there was no other option, turned to dealing drugs for a gang to make some cash.

Realize your potential so that some kid can have the chance to realize theirs.

“To the homeless, the poor, the beggar, the victim of AIDS and Alzheimer’s, the old, and the humble, the prisoners in their prison and the wanderers in their dreams, it is our sacred duty to stretch out our hand and say, ‘In spite of what separates us, what we have in common is our humanity.’”
- Elie Wiesel

[If you want to learn more, I urge you to check out Invisible Children and/or Dallaire’s Child Soldiers Initiative. Read his book: They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children. It’s informative without being a boring read. Trust me.]


P.S. Today, the trial portion of Thomas Labunga's case at the ICC came to an end. He is the first individual whose trial has focused solely on the recruitment of child soldiers. His trial and its outcome will set legal precedent for those of its kind that follow. I only hope that his judgement is fair and just. Click HERE to read more about Labunga.

adele.

The power with which Adele commands a room through merely standing in its centre and singing a song is absolutely remarkable.

This woman has music and talent flowing through and out of her everything and I will never know what the human race did to deserve this angel and her music but I thank the universe every day for bringing her to us.

i just want to know...

what makes your heart beat, beat faster for me?

a must read

All I can really say is that this is fantastic journalism.

It must be read as it invites deep and introspective discussion. The author's own confusion and unwillingness to form an opinion on Childers may mirror the reader's and while there are universal atrocities that must be put to an end, the methods to do so must also be questioned, thought about and criticized.

Perhaps the best part of this article is that it showcases the LRA, Kony and the atrocities committed in the Congo, C.A.R., Sudan and Uganda. Finally, people are given the resources they need to learn.

life

Ahh, the all important life question.

sunday.

To all my friends from the Fourth Estate: 

a tye, larema.

before sunrise

Even though my sentimentality is far greater than yours and you will probably never once think a single thought about me ever again, I will still think of our time together as a 'before sunrise' moment. Not in the way in which a missed love is the main focus but in the way that I could have learned so much more had time been kinder.

It was an experience in which time was too short and the wish for what could have been far outweighs the amount of time we spent together.  

But then again, perhaps it was the short bonds that made the time so sweet.

tiptoe across the line between laziness and decompression

There is a fine line between laziness and decompression.

I believe that this summer has been a fine lesson for me in how to straddle the line without tipping towards complete and utter laziness.

Nevertheless, I know I must continue to fight the desire to do nothing even though this desire is strong. September brings another year of hard work and libraries and books and reading through words and drivel of educators smarter than I am and who make me extremely jealous of their intelligence. BUT, I see the finish line. I see the goal. I see that April and May and June and July and August bring an entirely new future that is completely mine to fashion and paint. That is, if I continue to resist the temptation of laziness and use my time and decompress wisely.

Jedidiah Jenkins perfectly sums up my feelings on the Fourth Estate

If these members walked out a bit dizzy, stumbling over thoughts too big for the brain, we have done our job. If these members walked out convinced of nothing except the dignity of human beings and a desire to protect that dignity, then we have done our job.
If these members exchange self-serving profit for life-serving purpose, if they see their lives as part of a living body, and not an ignorant cancer, we have done our job.
If we prioritize worthy things, and marginalize unworthy things. If we celebrate beauty and mystery and belonging, and if we critique abuse, the rape of the human soul and the natural world, the fragmented fiction that my choices are separate from yours… then we have done our job.
If we stop blaming injustice on laziness, culture, and history, and start solving injustice with love and focused attention, then we have done our world a service.
And if there is a God, He will be well pleased.

I cannot speak for the other 650+ attendees, but for me, all of the above was accomplished. Thank you, Jed.