"I've caused myself a lot of grief, but that's what a life acting on principle is all about." 

- Brooksley Born*, former Head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

*Brooksley Born predicted the recent US financial blowout, but was hushed and shamed by some of Washington DC's most powerful men. 

Easily Entertained

I walked in the door today and for the first time in approximately 6 years said, "Look what I made in art class today, Mom!" Behold my first WISE Summer Art's Program project - a collage! It was surprisingly relaxing to find magazine pictures, use glue sticks, and puzzle piece everything together. I highly recommend it. (Note the picture of the elderly women in the bottom right corner - thats the gem I said most described myself). 

& while you're off doing fun things - go to Devendra Banhart's newly designed website and play with the kaleidoscope home page. If you're anything like me, it will provide at least 45 seconds of pure joy. 

WISE

It's Wednesday and I'm happy. Whyyy am I happy? The same reason I'm happy on Mondays, and the same reason all spring I was happy on Saturdays. I get to volunteer. [Pause] Why I haven't written about this earlier - is a complete mystery to me. [Resume] Since mid-to-late March, I've been volunteering (most) every Saturday with the Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment or WISE. & after only one week I fell madly, deeply, over the moon and back in loooove with this organization. Their mission is, Empowering immigrant women and girls to succeed. Need I say more? 

I will. According to their website W.I.S.E, "is a multicultural 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving African, Asian and Latino immigrant/refugee women and girls from all countries, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds. WISE started in 1995 to provide opportunities for women and girls in the immigrant communities to achieve their full potential and to increase their skills towards economic success WISE fulfills its mission for empowering immigrant women & girls to succeed via four strategies: Leadership Development, Access to Health, Wealth Creation, Technical Assistance"

Although WISE has many programs for adults and youth alike, I personally volunteer with the Girls Getting Ahead in Leadership Program (GGAL). I L-O-V-E it. GGAL is a program for immigrant/refugee girls in their Sophomore, Junior and Senior years of High School. Weekly workshops include college preparation, leadership development, academic skill building, group activities, local field trips, and community involvement. Myself and many other volunteers come as mentors for the girls offering one-on-one support for- anything! Scholarship/financial aid assistance, English/homework tutoring ...

Honestly, most of the time I feel like the girls teach me more then I will ever be able to teach them. They are all so full of life, motivation, creativity, and excitement despite all the hardships of being new to a culture. For our Lemonade Day event my team's name was The Angels, and I couldn't agree more.

HAVE I MENTIONED THAT I LOVE WISE? This year I decided that the WISE end-of-year networking dinner was my top choice for a birthday dinner. I dragged Mike along reluctantly, but when we got into the car afterwards not only was he a number one fan of WISE as well, but looked at me and said, "I understand why you love it so much." & folks, trust me, if Mike noticed something like this - it is both obvious & huge.

Thankfully, my volunteering didn't need to end with the networking dinner because GGAL has summer programs! For the next month I'll be spending my Mondays and Wednesdays volunteering at The Canvas for GGAL Summer Arts! Where the girls will meet and learn from local artists, learn the importance of cultural identity through art, go on field trips, and have funnnn being creative!

Isn't it sweet? So sweet you didn't even mind my mini novel of loving praises, ya?

One more time - I LOVE WISE!

World Cup Fever 2

This time, Rwanda style. These pictures are from Gisimba Orphanage in Kigali (Mosquito Stadium to be exact). ISU donated some soccer balls and needless to say they were an upgrade from cloth filled with sand! 

HearHear

First of all, Nicholas D. Kristof (the author/journalist I've been ranting and raving about alllll week) re-tweeted me. Granted - it was about his book, but whatev - I'm star struck. My 15 minutes of twitter fame. I LOVE it, and him. For real - if it wasn't for copyright laws I'd turn it's a small world into a Half the Sky  copy/paste project. More to come on the book, guaranteed. 

Second order of business - apologies. Maybe I've been masking it well for it via 'posting options', but I haven't been blogging everyday. GASP. The funny thing is - it's because I have TOO MANY THINGS TO SHARE. I'm feeling overwhelmed, because there are so many things I want to rant, rave, inform, and praise.

Where does a girl start? Normally, I'd start with coffee, but it's too late for that. So, I'll start with a promise. I'm working daily on finding motivation, tapping into my creative side, and having more fun. I've got some new pictures, books, products and quotes to share; local non-profits, friend travels and new stories to dig into. It's SUMMER. Here's to a revival. Keep reading, friends.

Rat Sniffing Bombs

While I'm on my Kristof kick ... if you have a father or know a father or know that this weekend is father's day - read this.

Whoooops

Sorry. Can't blog. Too busy attempting to soak up vitamin D between rain showers, play with my new kitten Dharma, catch World Cup games, work, go on interview(s), annnnnd spending every other second - absorbed in Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

Heads up - I'm starting to toy with the idea of  making it required reading for anyone who wants to be my friend.

World Cup Fever 1

I may know little about soccer (football), but a little bit of World Cup fever is too fun to pass up! & naturally, I'm a sucker for the idea of it all - countries of the world coming together to share a common interest and have fun while doing so?! Hell yes. 

During my time in Cairo I was fortunate enough to attend two FIFA Y20 Cup games, and they were fuuuun. Red, Black, and White painted faces. Drums, horns, and flags everywhere. MISR! MISR! MISR! I can only imagine the energy in South Africa for the big boy games! Sending waves and wishes of fun, safety, and a bit of jealousy to my dear friend Ian who is in the heart of it all!

Community & Change

I recently sat on a copy of the MN Women's Press. I've seen copies of the publication floating around, but it wasn't until I sat on one that I picked one up. & today - I couldn't put it down. 

In fact, I lapped up every. single. word. The articles are easy to read, inspiring, current, thoughtful, and local. 

This gets better - you can read it online! http://www.womenspress.com/ 

Feel like you don't have time to browse it all? Here ya gooooo (my favorites):
Think About It - OMG those Grannies stole my heart.
Trash Talk - 2 bags of trash per year?! Tips from one local women on how you can do the same!
A Wider Worldview - the importance of experiencing new things to expand your thinking, creativity, & overall life happiness.
Immigration Equity - immigration laws  - they affect more populations then you think!

True Dat

(Found here via Invisible Children)