Teens Doing Great Things: A Boy Named Gabe

When I saw this video and the post, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, on my friend and fellow author, Rebecca Bryan's blog, I knew I had to share it. The kid in this video is amazing.

I don't know a lot of of Junior High students who would be brave enough to dance in front of all their classmates like this, but Gabe does it.  He touches everyone in the room with his smile and his enthusiasm for life.
 


 Rebecca puts it this way:

And Gabe's face! Oh if I could put it in a bottle and bring it out whenever I am down or feeling sorry for myself. His face radiated pure,simple joy.

The joy of dancing.The joy of moving your body.

The joy of living!

To read more about her take on the experience, check out her blog. Thanks Rebecca for letting  me share this, and thanks to Gabe for being an amazingly brave kid.

Teens doing Great Things--A Time to Dance

I have many favorite memories from the weeks I spent with my Japanese Exchange students. Some of them include:

Volunteering at a Day Camp. The Japanese teens spent time at a local day camp. They taught American kids origami, how to write their names in Japanese, and a popular Japanese dance.

The Teen Panel. We had a question and answer session and found out teens on both sides of the Pacific have similar interests in books, (Harry Potter), and movies, (Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribean). The most popular question on both sides was, "Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend. The most interesting question I heard was when one of the Japanese boys asked my daughter if she liked him. (???)

The Car Wash. Our Japanese students, (most of whom were here on scholarship), worked hard on a hot day to earn money for a scholarship fund that was set-up by their Japanese agency, to send teens from the United States to Japan. Then they wrote letters to their new American friends telling them why they should apply for the scholarship and come to Japan.

(This event was held simultanously by three different exchange groups in Washington and several in California. The Washington group raised almost $1500.00. )

But my all time favorite moment came at the end of the Sayonara Party. It was also one of my proudest, and saddest moments.

The Japanese students worked hard all that day, cooking food and preparing a program for their host families and the American kids who had spent time in class with them. They did such a great job! The food came out delicious and the program was amazing.

At the end of the program they performed a dance to "Aitikata" a song by the Japanese group AKB48. The students had practiced their dance over and over again. (So often that I can almost sing all of the words.)

Still, I wasn't expecting what I saw.

It wasn't just the boys who came out in skirts, (which, by the way was laugh out loud funny!) It was when they did their encore and they pulled all the American kids up to dance with them. For the length of a song they were all united and laughing and having a wonderful time.

And when it was over we all cried.

The words to the song mean something like "I want to meet you," or "Come join me, I want to spend time with you." After all the time the Japanese kids and the American kids had spent together, it felt like a fitting message and a fitting ending to the whole experience.

Since the moment speaks better than I could ever explain it, here's video that was taken from the end of our Sayonara party.

Teens Doing Great Things-- Karlee's Prom

Once or maybe a couple of times during their high school career, teenage guys trade their jeans and t-shirts for tuxes and bow ties, and teenage girls get to play dress-up princess for one more night before they enter the realm of adulthood. Prom night--immortalized in in books, TV and movies as the penultimate right of teenage passage, few things are as American as a high school prom.

For a girl battling cancer, prom night seemed like an impossible dream. Then her friends stepped in to make sure she had one night to forget about being sick, one night to feel beautiful, and the memory of one prom to carry with her.

Here's what two teenage boys did to make sure their friend, Karlee had a night to remember, as told by Alana Lerwill, (the photographer who went with them to take pictures), on her blog blog post from June 9, 2009.

A few weeks ago, I had an incredible experience. I got to take pictures for a special Junior Prom. A fantastic young man named Quade asked a sweet girl named Karlee to their Junior Prom. It was to be her first date. She is 16 and is fighting off her 2nd battle with two types of cancer. She has had several tumors removed. As it got closer to prom, she found out she was going to have to be in the hospital undergoing another round of Chemo during the prom. Quade decided he and his friend Chase would go visit Karlee that night in the hospital.

As plans progressed, they decided to take prom to Karlee. They both rented Tuxedos, bought flowers and got their moms to help out with dinner. Karlee's mom got her a wig and a beautiful prom dress. The hospital chipped in and helped out with a nice classroom that they decorated and put a backdrop and the kitchen help even dressed up to serve them dinner.

The doctor gave her a pass so she could leave her hospital room and they were allowed to go across the street to the city park. I came along to take pictures and we were able to do a nice photo shoot both in the hospital and then a bunch of fun pictures at the park. This was an amazing bunch of youth. The boys were so polite and gracious, giving her many compliments and taking such good care of her. They really tried hard to make it a memorable night. Karlee has an amazing strong spirit she is doing all she can to beat this thing. You can really sense what an amazing person she is.

To read the rest of the story and to see more pictures of Karlee's prom go to Photography by Alana.

Thank you to Quade and Chase for doing such a great thing for their friend and than you to Alana Lerwill for her beautiful pictures and for allowing me to share this story.

Teens Doing Great Things: Catch Them Being Good

I read a blog post about teens this week that bothered me. The author was talking about the "attitude of entitlement" that she sees in teens today. Okay, I have teens, I'm around teens a lot, and I was a teen, so I understand where she's coming from. Yes, there are times when teens act like the world revolves around them. (I remember having that attitude myself.)

But as a kind of rebuttal, I wanted to talk about what I saw teens doing just in the last week.

On Saturday my daughter and a group of her friends participated in a walk to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis because a little girl she babysits has CF. I went to Walmart and saw kids and teens bagging groceries for tips. Another group was frosting and selling cupcakes. All the money they raised was going to Seattle Children's Hospital.

On Sunday, teenage boys from my church visited elderly and infirm members of our congregation who couldn't make it to church, to take them the Sacrament, (an ordinance similar to Catholic Communion).

On Tuesday I dropped my son off for scouts and he was greeted by his den chief, the teenage grandson of one of his den leaders who voluntarily comes to cub scout meetings every week to mentor the younger scouts.

On Wednesday I went to our grade school's annual fun run. My oldest son, now in high school, came along (happily), as a volunteer and he wasn't the only teenage, former student, that was there to help.

Yesterday, I heard from six members of the cast of HAIRSPRAY, all thanking me for the review of their performance that I had put on my blog last Friday.

In deference to Memorial Day, I should also mention that all this week, young men and women are far away from their homes and families, serving their country in many parts of the world.

These are just the few examples I saw going about my day-to-day things. I bet you if you looked around, you would see some too.

I know if I looked for it, I would probably be able to find kids and teens doing bad things, but I prefer to look for the good things that they do. All around us are kids and teens volunteering their time to benefit their families and their communities. I'm envious of the energy and enthusiasm that they have. I'm envious of the spirit of youth who still believe, (and rightly so), that they can change the world. These kids lead out in doing good things because they feel invincible, because they believe they can. (At least until someone tells them they can't or someone tells them that they're bad kids.)

If there is an attitude of entitlement it comes from the adults who don't give kids and teens the opportunity to do what they're good at--shaking thing up. They can shake things up for good, just as easily as they can shake things up for bad.

For the adults out there, I challenge you to look for kids and teens doing great things. Then let me know, I love putting that stuff on my blog!!!

For the teens out there, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't make the world a better place. If someone labels you a bad kid, or a bad generation, do everything you can to prove them wrong. Keep up the good work.

Teens Doing Great Things--HAIRSPRAY at Timberline High School

What happens when you take a cast of high school students and ask them to put on an iconic musical that is on its surface a comedy, but with an huge underlying message of racial and size prejudice? If you're the drama students at Timberline high school in Lacey, Washington, the answer is something AMAZING.

As soon as the curtain opened on "Good Morning Baltimore" I knew Timberline's performance of HAIRSPRAY was going to be something special. Maybe I should have guessed before that, based on the number of people who were turned away at the door of this sold-out final performance. Lucky for me, I had managed to snag the last two advance seats because my daughter HAD to see this musical.

I'm so glad I got the opportunity to participate in this show as an audience member. I say participate instead of watch on purpose, because this was truly a musical to participate in. The acting, the singing, the music, the costumes, THE HAIR!!! (they literally had wig sponsors for almost the entire cast!), all begged the audience to be part of the performance. In fact, there were several scenes in which the cast was dancing and singing in the aisles and encouraging the audience to join them. There was even one scene where members of the audience were brought on stage to hula hoop.

HAIRSPRAY director Brenda Amburgy says, "....we try and take the audience with us as the curtain is raised."

I could go on and on about the acting and singing. Jacob Hoff was laugh out loud hilarious as Edna Turnblad, the John Travolta character in the movie, (how did he dance in those heels and keep his voice like that through the whole show???).

As Ms. Amburgy put it, "if you don’t have an Edna like we had in Jake Hoff you really set yourself up for less than the best."

Makayla Tillman was sweet and spunky as Tracy, Marissa Jacobsen and Alaina Woolsley were wickedly funny as the Von Tussles, Aubrey Taylor, Symphony Canady, Kayla Bridges, and Jasmine Buhain-Slater literally blew me away as the "Dynamites," (the back up singers), along with other amazing voice talents; Stacey Ejim, as Motormouth Maybelle, Malachi Jones as Seeweed and Madi Slyvester as Penny Pingleton, and Imani Cox as Little Inez.

Every part was cast beautifully from Julian Fajardo (Corny Collins), Sam Kegely, (Link Larkin), Austin Tibbits, (Wilbur Turnblad), Hayley Matson who played Prudy Pingleton, the Jail Matron, and the Gym Teacher, all fabulously well, Joe Cheney who played both Mr. Spritzer and Mr. Pinky, and Trevor Shaw who played the WZZT Cameraman and Sara Roundtry as the WZZT assistant. (Yes, I am mentioning everyone in the cast because they were all that good!)

A play like HAIRSPRAY can't be put on successfully without an army of multi-talented actors.The main cast was supported by an ensemble full of incredible dancers, singers and actors, all of whom did a fabulous job.

Of the entire cast, Ms. Amburgy said, "The kids knew all the songs coming in which helped but to dance, sing and act was the challenge…..they rose to that challenge but like an athlete they had no idea how in shape they had to be.

"Our philosophy is 'Trust me' which I say many times in rehearsals. We put the vision of opening night in their heads and try and keep it there with lots of encouraging words."

Of course such a great performance wouldn't have been possibly without an amazing director either. I'm positive that Brenda Amburgy put days and days into this show, and she gives credit also to a wonderful support system:

"It took many talented people to make this happen and I have been working with the same team for 10 years so we are a well oiled machine. Gwen Barnes is the genius behind the dancing and Terry Shaw makes the vocals and orchestra top notch. I have worked with Rick Wehmeyer for over 25 years, and having him joint the team for wigs (and I mean WIGS), make-up and hair on this show was unbelievable.

The music, the dancing, the sets, the costumes, and the acting all had the feel of a professional musical, but what really shone through in this for me was the heart and message in this performance of HAIRSPRAY. I think that having teenagers put on this show gave it a deeper feeling. The part of the play when Stacey Ejim and the other African-American students sang, "I Know Where I've Been," literally brought tears to my eyes. These were kids singing about an era they never lived through and racial and social prejudices I hope they don't ever have to experience, but behind they put their whole heart and voice as well as their own experiences, their energy, and their hope for the future.

Ms. Amburgy put it this way:

"We also are diverse student population at Timberline and we train many students to be in our shows that otherwise wouldn’t be given the opportunity. Performing in a THS musical is a Rainbow experience…..to quote a line from the detention scene. We are lucky to have students of many colors who walk through our doors during auditions and sometimes I have to go out and ask them to come. Many kids just need to be asked."

I know the camaraderie and friendships that are developed when kids work together to accomplish a goal; whether it be a musical, a sports team, or a club, last long after the goal is accomplished. I believe that kids like the ones in this play have the ability to change the future, through their actions, through their voices, and even through performances like HAIRSPRAY.

Thank you to Ms. Amburgy, her support staff and all of the kids who participated in HAIRSPRAY for putting on what was literally the best musical production I have ever seen by a high school.

I would love to hear more from the participants in HAIRSPRAY. Please leave your comments about what it took to put on this fabulous musical.

Exchanging Courage, Friendship, and Compassion,

Along with much of the world, my heart and my prayers have been with Japan this week and with the friends I have there. The earthquake and tsunami have especially hit home because I as a teacher/coordinator for Cultural Homestay International, I'm preparing for the arrival of 26 Japanese exchange students and their Japanese coordinator next weekend. (See my posts about the group that came last year.)

The students are coming from Southeastern Japan, away from the earthquake and tsunami zone and far enough away from the nuclear plants that they are relatively safe. Still, I have received many calls and e-mails from last year's and this year's host families who are worried about their students. A common theme I've seen is they're looking for a way to help. Even after they find out that their students are safe they want to know what they can do.

I love the exchange student program because it shows us we're not so different. The kids are only here about a week, but in that time they become an integral part of our families, and we learn to love them. When tragedy strikes on the other side of the world, it's no longer something bad happening to strangers and foreigners far away, it's happening to people we care about. Getting down on a personal level with kids from a different country makes the borders between nations not so concrete.

My heart and my prayers are also with an American teen who was visiting his grandparents in Japan with the earthquake hit. Although they were in the middle of the quake zone, he and his grandparents are okay. Now radiation leaks have forced them to be evacuated, but there is no gas and no way to get him to Tokyo so he can come home to the United States. As you can imagine, his mother has contacted every possible lead to try to get him home, from churches to the U.S. Embassy. But here's the sweet irony in this story. He doesn't want to come home. This kid who's only 14 wants to stay to help his grandparents and his 90+ year-old great-grandmother. He's worried about them if he's not there. This is just one example of wonderful spirit and courage of kids and teens, not just here, but around the world.

I've seen this same spirit and courage in all the kids who come as Exchange Students and in the kids who are their host brothers and sisters, no matter what nation they're from.

The Japanese students who are coming next weekend range in age from 12-16. They'll spend a week living as American teenagers, and get to meet and associate with kids their own age. There will be language barriers and cultural barriers, but within the first day they'll have fast friends here. (Trust me, I've seen it happen again and again.) When they leave, the rising generation from both countries will have a better understanding of each other. The world will be a little smaller. And when bad things happen in another part of the world these kids will have more compassion and understanding for the people who are suffering. I think that's a pretty important lesson to learn.

Teens Doing Great Things--Aspire Middle School, Breast Cancer Walk

Kids these days...they're awesome.

I'm thrilled to say I've gotten tons of ideas for my Teens and Kids Doing Great Things posts. (Please keep them coming.)

I'm playing catch-up so this one is from a while back, but I wanted to recognize ten kids from Aspire Middle School, in Lacey, Washington (and three amazing teachers) who took part in the Tacoma, Washington, "Making Strides" Breast Cancer Walk, on October 9, 2010.

They worked hard to raise money for breast cancer research and gave up their Saturday for a 5k walk. The combined total for all the walkers in Tacoma was $72,795.16.

Great job Firebirds! Way to make a difference.

Vetran's Day Tribute, Kids and Teens Who Have Served Our Country

When I was thinking of my "Teens Doing Great Things" post in relation to Veteran's Day, it occurred to me that there have been a lot of kids and teens who have served in the Military at a very young age. History is full of kids in their teens and younger who have served their country during times of war. Many lied about their age so they could be soldiers. Many of those child and teen soldiers paid the ultimate price.

I did some Internet research and here's a sample of what I found:

Revolutionary War

John Kitts (joined the Continental Army) in 1776, when fourteen years of age, he was a member of the First Pennsylvania Regiment of the Revolutionary War. (He died at the age of 108, and was possibly the last living Revolutionary War Veteran.)

War of 1812

Timothy Batchelder, a lad of eight summers, watched weary soldiers march by his Allenstown, New Hampshire home.... The beat of the drums had charmed Timothy long before now, but today it made him pulse with excitement. Yes, Timothy was a very real boy and his name is on the War of 1812 muster rolls.
--War of 1812 Drummer Boy: Timothy Batchelder Off to War and Still a Child

Civil War
An 11 year old who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. The official citation notes his birth date. There are records of boys as young as 7 serving in the Civil War.

Civil War Statistics:

More than 1,000,000 (soldiers) were eighteen or under.
About 800,000 were seventeen or under.
About 200,000 were sixteen or under.
About 100,000 were fifteen or under.
Three hundred were thirteen or under-most of these fifers or drummers, but regularly enrolled, and sometimes fighters.
Twenty-five were ten or under. Boys in the Civil War



World War II

The youngest US serviceman in World War II was 12 year old Calvin Graham, USN. He was wounded in combat and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age. (His benefits were later restored by act of Congress). World War II Facts

Vietnam
11,465 KIAs (Killed in Action) were less than 20 years old. One man killed in Vietnam was only 16 years old (RABER, PAUL J.)

Now

In researching for this blog I came across the story of a young Iraqi who most likely lied about his age so that he could serve with the United States Army as an interpreter. He made that decision after al-Qaeda came to his school and killed two of his best friends. He decided he wanted to make a difference for his country. This brave teen reminded me of the young men and women in American history who lied about how old they were so they could fight for their country. You should read the whole story. Here's a link to the Washington Post article, "As U.S. troops leave Iraq, an officer honors the memory of a young interpreter"

An Inadequate Thanks
Even now many of our men and women in uniform are young. Seventeen-year-olds can enlist in the Military, but they're not supposed to go into combat until they're eighteen. Whatever the age, I'm grateful for the service of all of our servicemen and women. I live near Joint Base Lewis McChord so I know a lot of military families. I've attended a memorial service for a soldier killed in Iraq, the husband of a dear friend. These experiences have given me a glimpse into the sacrifice our soldiers and their families make.

I belong to Soldier's Angels, an organization that offers programs to support our troops, like adopting a deployed soldier who could use some mail. I would encourage anyone who's interested in supporting our troops to participate in Soldier's Angels or other programs like it.

As a teen I got to put a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. The feeling and reverence at that sight is undeniable and indescribable. Although there is no way I could adequately say thank you to all of those who have served and are serving our country, whatever their age, I hope they understand that I am grateful.

Teens Doing Great Things--Sacramento Walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Guest Post)

***Hi, I’m Jennifer’s older sister (by 14 months) Kristin Amrine. She and I started out sharing a room and arguing over toys, but growing up on a farm in Idaho, we soon found other things to fight about--whose turn it was to milk the cows, who got to take the car out on the weekends, and boys. Yes, we were that close--best friends in fact. It’s no wonder we share so many of the same interests, (like writing), but our lifestyles are a little different. After we left home, she chose to raise her family in the wet, eternally green Western Washington Area. I’m perfectly happy to live in a warmer, much drier (and browner) area--the Sacramento Valley. Though we are far away, modern technology has kept us close. She is still my favorite (and only) sister.***

My sister uses this blog to talk about the "amazing things" teens do, but she likes to focus on Washington teens. I had to let her know that Washington State does not hold a monopoly on good kids (does anyone sense the sibling rivalry?). After telling her about an amazing experience I had last weekend, she agreed to let me have a guest spot on her blog

Sunday, October 3, the city of Sacramento hosted a 5 K walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Liberty Ranch High School Freshman and quarterback on the JV football team (4-0 winning record), Ranse Gale and his family, got involved in this cause three years ago when his brother, Michael almost died. Michael was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. Ranse, along with friend and fellow classmate, Katlin Hibbard (also diagnosed with Diabetes) were key in getting together a team of over 250 members to raise money and walk for the foundation.

For the Gale family, the walk is the main fund raising event of the year, but just the icing on the cake in their campaign to support the JDRF. Michael and his mother have been to the California capitol, speaking with members of congress. Earlier this year, 6-year-old Michael was chosen to go Washington, were he met President Obama. But his biggest thrill came in June where Michael, his mom, and eleven-year-old sister were invited back stage to meet Nick Jonas (who also has Juvenile Diabetes) and the rest of the Jonas brothers.

Weeks prior to the JDRF walk in Sacramento, emails and Facebook messages were sent out to let everyone know about the walk, Katlin and Michael, and the many other children living with Juvenile Diabetes. Friends and classmates became actively involved in fund raisers leading up to the walk. Sunday morning (before 9:00am), they doned in matching t-shirts and pirate gear (Michael’s trademark—a cure is the only treasure). Katlin, Ranse and other teens lead the way, raising over $20,000 dollars for Michael’s crew, part of a $100,000 effort.

Hundreds teams of walkers wore matching shirts, held signs, and walked proudly in honor of a child they knew and loved, but the teens representing Michaels Crew were at the front of the pack. Liberty Ranch High football players were joined by there families and became the cheerleaders; raising enthusiasm and unity among the walkers, attracting so much attention that television crews stopped the Gale family and interviewed them. With tears in her eyes, Michael’s mom Shelley, told the reporter about her families struggle, but how grateful they were for the support of the community and especially the teens that were part of the team.

When I wrote to Shelly to tell her about the opportunity I had been given to be part of Jennifer’s blog, she wrote back and told me: “I've added up the money for this year and we are just shy of $20,000!!!! Yes, that's right $20,000! Just for this year and over $46,000 since Michael was diagnosed. I was blown away with the total. Never in a million years did I think we could raise that much money in such a terrible economy. Guess it just goes to show that when you share your passion about something and it's for a worthy cause people's hearts will open and be willing to help those in need. We are truly blessed by everyone that supports us. This is a tough disease to deal with day in and day out and to arrive at the walk each year and see the swarms of people there for Michael, gives us that drive to work that much harder.”

What a way to sum it all up, and goes to show that we, both young and old, can do great things if we just make the effort. The young adults in our communities are enthusiastic and ready to work for a cause. I think the future looks bright!

9-11 Day of Service (Kids Doing Great Things)

Today was 9-11.

A day of remembrance.

President Obama has asked us to make it a day of service. I think that's the perfect way to remember those who died that day and to honor those who lost their lives trying to rescue the victims. It's the perfect way to show those who were trying to break us that they haven't won.

None of us old enough to remember 9-11 will ever forget that day. It was my daughter's first ever day of preschool. My son's second week of kindergarten. I was afraid to let them leave the house. I watched the second tower go down on live T.V. I cried buckets and hugged my kids and felt like I had lost someone in my family.

For a few short weeks, our country was united. I'll never forget that part either.

Nine years later, sometimes we do forget. Life is busy. It moves forward. So when my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) organized a community service project for today, I admit, I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about it.

For one thing, the project was removing ivy from a community park. Not very glamorous. Not very fun. And having battled English Ivy in my own yard, I knew it was a losing battle. (For those of you not familiar with this plant it will cover EVERYTHING. It spreads, it climbs, and it kills trees. And just when you think you've gotten rid of it...)

When the time came to get out of bed and go to the service project this morning, excuses like coming home late from a high school football game last night and trying to catch up from the first week of school made me almost decide to stay in bed. But I didn't.

(So far this has been all about me and it's not even Monday. But hold on, I'll get to the point.)

When I got to the project site, I saw kids--teenagers down to almost-toddlers--working with their families and friends. They were doing the thankless, itchy, back-breaking job of yanking out ivy. And they were smiling. And they were having fun. And they were working together to do something good for their community.

It was great to see teenagers from rival high schools (who had battled it out on the football field the night before), joking with each other and working side by side. I laughed when my nine-year-old pretended he was a super hero, rescuing the trees from the ivy. I had to smile at a sweet little girl with her arms full of vines stumbling towards an overloaded compost pile.

A simple service. No lives were saved (unless you count trees), no medals were awarded. Nothing but a thanks from the mayor and a less ivy-covered park.

Dirty and tired, the kids who had worked so hard went home to clean up. I bet they didn't give a second thought to what they had done. They were probably thinking about a dance tonight, or homework they needed to finish, or maybe just taking a shower and a nap.

Most of them are too young to even remember 9-11, and pulling weeds probably won't stop terrorists or create world peace.

Except...

For three hours this morning, the kids (and adults) were doing something for their community. They set aside their own lives, their busy schedules, and even their rivalries. They met some new people, worked side by side with friends and family, and made a community park a better place. As I watched everybody working together it reminded me of the sense of patriotism and unity that we all felt after 9-11. It was a good feeling.

So maybe I'm making too much of a morning of ivy removal.

Or maybe even little bits of service make the world a better place.