The topic of race and diversity is never an easy topic to discuss. It makes people weirdly uncomfortable, and in certain situations it can be extremely awkward. I have watched quite a few TED talks in my life and although they have all been incredibly inspiring, this one hit me the hardest. I’ll be honest, I feel like every time race is brought up it’s the same thing over and over again and it always starts with history. Mellody Hobson just got straight to the point about her real life experiences as an African American woman. The stories she told were really something to think about. The story that really stuck out to me (even though all of her personal stories were intriguing), the one that struck me the hardest was when she was talking about a party she went to with all white kids. It’s true, in most situations a parent would be asking “did you have a great time?” or “what did you guys do?” but her mother’s first question was, “how did they treat you?” Honestly, it made me think for a second because my mother never had to say that to me. It just makes you think about how easy you have it compared to someone else who is different.  

"Don’t be color blind, be color brave”

The quote "don't be color blind, be color brave" is such a powerful statement. Yes, it is "hard, awkward, and uncomfortable" to talk about race and other differences in people, but completely ignoring it and not vocalizing it will do absolutely nothing to fix the problem at hand. Like the tweet by Nayyirah Waheed...

"Never trust anyone who says they do not see color. This means to them you are invisible" 

This is a very bold but (unfortunately) true statement. If you are not looking at people as being different than you are saying that everyone is all the same, which obviously is not true. By appreciating everyone for their differences, you are giving them a voice and opening yourself to new beliefs and ideas. If everyone was made exactly the same and came from the same place and looked exactly the same, this world would be in pretty tough shape if you really take the time to realize it. People from different cultures, backgrounds, and religions bring so much to the table. Everyone has different experiences and everyone thinks differently which is truly the beauty of people. Different is beautiful. Without difference we would basically be robots...which is horrifying to think about. I like different. I like being different. I like being able to bring different perspectives to the table because I am a young, female, Jewish woman. I am different than anyone else I have ever met, and I like to embrace that. I think everyone should be able to embrace themselves for who they are, not what they look like or believe in. 

"Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together."

-Jacqueline Woodson

YD Ideology and Horoscope

The results I got for the YD Ideology were not the results I was expecting. My highest score (which was tied) was between “Risk, Resiliency, and Prevention” and “Critical Youth Development”. The reason I said I wasn’t expecting those results is because the last category in which I got a low score was “Positive Youth Development”. In my every day character I am a positive person who motivates others in a positive way. I was expecting my results to be somewhere more along those lines. I believe that these answers must overlap in some ways or the way I go about helping the youth are different than the ways I thought they were, which is pretty cool too.

Reading the horoscopes for the results definitely helped putting my results in perspective. I would agree that I am the type of person that would come out and brainstorm ways to help a situation and try different ways to make things better. I am also the type of person who would collaborate with other resources to make sure I am doing whatever I can to help to the best of my ability.

Writing this out makes me realize that maybe the results I got were exactly the way I am! This was a really helpful exercise! (:

     I’ll be completely honest, before reading this article I knew little to nothing about Youth in Action. By reading this I got more insight on what goes on in Youth in Action and what it does for not only our youth but our community as a whole. The youth in this group reach out to their communities with real ideas to make some real changes, which I find so fascinating. The article mentioned how youth are not looked at as people, but as children who are dependent on their parents. YIA gives youth the opportunity step out of the role of child and into the role of a leader in their communities. Even in my own home, although I am 23 years old, I am still looked at as a child even though I am a thriving leader in college and have just gotten a job in my career. In a way I believe this is the same as how youth are looked at in our communities.  

     The whole purpose for YIA is to give our youth a voice. A quote that I thought was important was “it’s critical for young people to be at the center of change in every community if we’re ever going to better the world we all know is possible”. I believe it is important because it is saying that the youth is our future and it is up to our youth to build on what we already have for our communities.

     Something I could relate this to, is the volunteer trips I used to take in high school. For two years in a row I went to Philadelphia with the JCC in Providence to help the homeless but it wasn’t your typical “help the homeless trip”. We took a coach bus filled with huge trash bags and suitcases of food, toiletries, and clothes. We went to a countless amount of shelters and learned and talked to many homeless men and women and really listened to their stories so we could come back to our own communities and apply what we saw their to our own communities. By going out and becoming active with a youth group, we were able to take what we learned to help real problems. That is what YIA is doing and I think it is such an amazing opportunity for our youth and all of their communities. 

Being part of the Resident Student Association has changed my whole college career and has given me the leadership skills I need to succeed. 

My nieces and family mean the world to me. 

All of my friends are the most important people in my life. 

Camp Massasoit. Not only has this place helped me grow as a person but I have made the best friends I could ever ask for. 

One of the most supportive and caring people in my life. No matter what kind of mood I'm in he always knows how to put a smile on my face.