How amazing things are when life opens up, seemingly just for you. Everyone, in Oprah's words, has had that "Aha Moment" where it all makes sense. This is the experience we work towards for the kids. Where their education, meets their life experience and shows them truly what a value they are - in every aspect, not just to those who are their family and friends but to those who will come behind them. How in every culture, ancestors paved a way for us to have life more meaningfully and that it is our responsibility to do the same. How do we show them that the greatest offerings are not in what you can take or what you can get, but what you can give or do to enhance, improve, enlighten or support, someone, something or in some way. Some of our favorite conversations with the kids are those that show them what they have now that didn't exist when we were children: cd's, mp3 players, lap tops, tablets, the internet, flat screen tv's, apps for everything and how all of those advancements were the creation of someone who wanted to make things easier, more efficient, more convenient for others. How their heart to improve, change or shape the world could be the cure for a major disease, the next greatest technological gadget, the means to eliminate homelessness, anything is possible when you have the heart to make a difference. Part of what we teach the kids is how to be aware of their feelings and actions. How to make better decisions and how to interpret what those feelings and actions mean; how to give themselves permission to take a moment and absorb what is happening around them to see it fully for what it is and move forward from there. Ultimately, how they control themselves and can make commitments to themselves to improve, not for anyone else and any other reason than because they want to do it. Our hope is that every student that enters our doors has an experience worth passing on and sharing with someone who could benefit from what they learned. There are no perfect people but there is always an opportunity to choose to do your best and encourage/be the example for others to do the same. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
