Open your souls, open your minds, there’s a lot of wonderful people in the world outside.

Finding my way to the island (a time line)

July 19th, 2009: I left my team in Mississippi to join my family in Kentucky.

July 19th, 2009-August 1st, 2009: In Kentucky, I took a few days to just recuperate. The trip to Mississippi left me physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Seriously, seriously, seriously exhausted. I couldn’t form sentences. I couldn’t read. I could barely think. For three weeks, I had lived and breathed my Mississippi kids, and that didn’t stop when I boarded the plane for Kentucky. I was completely used up and I had poured out all I had to give, and didn’t have anything left. The team challenged me and pushed me beyond my limits. Where I had drawn boundaries in the sands of my comfort and sanity, the young Mississippites had trotted boldly across, kicking the sands beyond any point of recognition, and leaving me floating completely lost without them. In this state, I did very little. I floated around trying to find the sense of peace I had before going to Mississippi. During this time, and in such a state of internal chaos, I knew I couldn’t return to the city for school. I started thinking about alternative plans. Dreaming of creating a future village for orphans, I wanted to search the world for a good location. Instead, I stumbled upon COA’s website. COA quickly informed me that if I hurried, I might be accepted for the fall term. Skeptical, I sent my references and forwarded my transcript.

August 26th, 2009: The admissions team let me know that I was accepted.

August 27th-August 30th, 2009: I decided to go.

September 2nd, 2009- I found someone on Craig’s list with a room to rent. When I googled the address, I found this description,

“We envision a community that nurtures the individuality of each member. We envision a community that practices a way of living that is sustainable for generations to come, a way of living that defines by practice and direction the meaning of human ecology. We envision a community that strives to work out our personal difficulties between members through its own ingenuity.

Established in 1978 as a collective working to create a whole-grain bakery, the community has evolved into a group of artists and human ecologists. Located in town, we have been a source of housing and support for College of the Atlantic people for 15 years. Some of our members are actively involved in protecting the environment of Maine through grassroots and legislative involvement.

In practice, we are economically independent with an individual contribution toward upkeep and taxes of the building, phone, electric, and recycled paper products. Physically, our community consists of one large commercial building, one large organic garden, and one large shed. We have a complete woodworking shop and dream of a pottery studio.

We have recently purchased 19 acres of woods and blueberries to give the community a larger garden and a retreat in the country. This could possibly lead us to relocate in the future if the way opens.”

September 4th, 2009: Chelsea, Greg, and I drove from NY to ME and moved into the Downeast Friends Community. Chelsea and Greg stayed to check out my living situation and to make sure it’s not a cult, or, as my mom puts it, a bunch of “naval-gazers”—people who sit around looking at their belly buttons in amazement all day. It’s not.

The Downeast Friends Community

My vocabulary is not wide enough to explain this place in all its fullness, so for now, you will have to suffer with cliche’s. I live in a hippie commune, or, as one of my teachers described it today, a “peace community.” I’m here to reclaim the word “hippie” and direct you in a specific direction as I describe my community. Otherwise, I’m doing everyone an injustice by summing it up with a word so quickly stereotyped. I tend to stay away from the term because of its connotation with drug use and free love, but I’m learning that there are so many other kinds of hippies and it’s not a dirty word. The word hippie originally began to describe those living counter to popular culture. Today’s hippies are different because today’s culture is different. The hippies here are not running around naked, getting high, or doing the whole free love thing (or at least are not doing those things in the house). They (we?) are just living counter to popular culture. We eat organically, try to grow some of our own food, or at least be conscious of everything we eat, are nonviolent, and try to live intentionally. Many are artists and musicians, but some are scientists and mathematicians. Many are vegans or vegetarians, and almost all are working towards a better world. That describes College of the Atlantic too.

Joining Downeast Friends

Chelsea, Greg, and I arrived to meet James, the craiglist guy, and Robert, the owner of the house, late Friday afternoon. James gave us a tour of the house. The house looks like it’s two houses that have been connected in the middle. James described one side of the house as the “old person side” and the other side as the “young side.” One side belongs to Robert and Diane, the couple who rent out the rooms. The other side has room for 10-14 tenants spread out over three floors. There is also a large living room and kitchen. My room is on the top floor, and it’s simple, but perfect. The other members of the family (because we are a family) have rooms through out the house. Ian and Christian, however, prefer to sleep outside under the stars, and they have hammocks set up in the garden that they retreat to at night.

When Chelsea and Greg and I arrived, Robert informed us that we were to be guests of the house for two nights to see how it works, and to give us two days to find alternative housing. Sweet deal. If I decide to stay, all the housemembers will “come to consensus” in mid-September and decide that we all want to live together. If we are all “in consensus” we will sign the contract. The contract is not a normal contract.

Instead, it’s a comprehensive guide telling you to cover the TV with a blanket when you are not using it and to let others know before you do use it so they can leave the house if they so desire, and which plants in the garden are for communal use, and how the definition of “sustainable” is NO WASTE. The contract stresses harmony between human beings and the environment. Material goods and work is shared among all members of the community. This desire to live in harmony with each other and the environment is the glue that holds us together.

Explore the Reality of that idea

The others who live here are very interesting characters. One short conversation with any of them leaves you wanting to hear their life story. Maybe with time, those will come. For now, I only have my stories of how things are much more free and flowy here. Structure is loose. For example, when explaining to Robert how Greg could sleep on the floor, Robert put his hand up and slowly said, “well…… why…… don’t you…… explore…… the reality….. of that…… and then… see where that….. takes you……. and just…… go…… from there.” Maybe it wasn’t that slow, and I’m just used to people talking faster. I don’t know.

The next morning at breakfast, we sat out on the porch and ate blue sticky rice with granola and blueberries and talked about the garden, and the imbalance between omega 3’s and omega 6’s in the American diet. At one point, Ian, barefoot (I’ve never seen him wear shoes), wearing overalls, a plaid flannel shirt, and his usual dreads, came out of his hammock to tell us he had found glasses. When he learned someone had left them behind, he put them on and said, “Wow. The trees have actual leaves! I can see how people become addicted to these!” Addicted to glasses? I never thought of it that way. Despite his appearance, which I must admit, initially had me wary (my prejudice labeled Ian a drifter doing nothing with his life). I was SO wrong. Ian is brilliant. He never graduated from COA, but he seems to know everything about food and plants and their interactions with each other and the body. I just want to follow him around with a camera and record everything he says. He’s brilliant.

—

I am perched here in my room on the top floor, looking out over the rest of the town, and enjoying the sun streaming in. In the coming days, I hope I will describe more of the characters and conversations here. But for now, world, I just want to announce that I’m here, and this place already feels like home. Yes, I’m here in this small community of Downeast Friends, living in this big house in this small community on this island off the coast of Maine– I’m here, I’m here, I’m here!

I live my life in widening rings Which spread over earth and sky.

Background:

Over the years, I have found myself constantly loving hurting kids. Even when I try to stop myself because it hurts too much- I can’t. As my heart beats and bleeds for all the children (foster kids in the US to children in armies abroad), my head works overtime to try to find solutions to the causes. More than anything, I want to create a safe place for hurting children to live and play and learn and be loved. I dream of making this place a reality through an intentional international community that is fundamentally eco-friendly and sustainable. This community will include family homes (where couples can move in and adopt children and raise their own), a school (which emphasizes arts and music as well as academics), a medical clinic (to provide basic care for the community members), a creative arts therapy program, and a summer camp and retreat center (for children and adults from outside the community to come learn about our way of life). The community will exemplify an alternative way of life for the rest of the world, a life of love and peace. Although the community will be primarily focused on child orphans, we will fully recognize that at some level, every human being is (and acts as) an orphan when separated from Divine love.

The Story:

A few days ago I transferred from NYU to College of the Atlantic, a small school in Bar Harbor, ME to learn about community development, sustainable food systems, sustainable business, and how public health is intertwined with the health of the environment (and how to improve both).  As soon as I get a chance to sit down and write, I will tell you all about the place- it’s amazing. For now, the explanation of why I’m here (up above), and pictures will have to do. Oh, and because future dreams are not enough for me to live on. Here’s what I am trying to do every day.

• *Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
• Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.
• Ensure that communities at all levels guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms and provide everyone an opportunity to realize his or her full potential.
• Promote social and economic justice, enabling al to achieve a secure and meaningful livelihood that is ecologically responsible.
• Eradicate poverty.
• Guarantee clean water, clean air, food security, uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation.
• Allocate the national and international resources required.
• Empower every human being with the education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood.
• Recognize the ignored, protecting the vulnerable, and serving those who suffer.
• Ensure universal access to education and health care.
• Integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.
• Recognize the impotance of moral and spiritual education for sustainable living.
• Treat all living beings with respect and consideration.
• Promote a culture of nonviolence, and peace.
• Recognize that peace is the wholeness created by right relationships with oneself, other persons, other cultures, other life, Earth, and the larger whole of which all are a part.*
• Learn

• And, to ALWAYS LOVE.

Please hold me accountable to this. When I forget, please remind me of my principles and dreams, even if you do not share the same ones! Challenge mine, make me change, and make me grow, and sometimes, please remind me to just be.

* Taken, often word for word from The Earth Charter. Although I just included the goals I am personally working towards and feel passionate about, there are many more. Check it out here.

A quick tour:

Before heading to campus, Greg and Chelsea and I checked out the surrounding area. This is Cadillac Mountain, a few minutes away from campus.

Around campus:

Back on top of the mountain for the sunset!

***

“Then we sat on our star and dreamed of the way that we were and the way that we wanted to be.”- Morrison

Dear Whoever May Still Read This,

I want to update you on what’s been going on these past few weeks. I apologize if you texted, called, facebooked, or e-mailed me during the month of July and did not hear back from me. On July 4th, I drove down New Jersey to volunteer at training camp with Touch the World. I have joined TTW teams around the world for the past ten years, but this summer, I really wanted to finish my book so I volunteered to train the other teens going out on trips.

My first trip, almost ten years ago, was very difficult. Training Camp is a boot camp. You wake up at 5:45am, work/learn all day, sleep in tents, and have no running water all in order to prepare you to serve in less privileged areas around the world. TTW’s training camp breaks you down and forces you to work together as a team in order to survive so that when you are on the field you are prepared for anything. As an eleven year old, I moved through training camp in a daze questioning myself every step of the way, “what was I thinking? This is CRAZY! I spent much of my time at the nurses station treating various aches and pains and retreating from the intense discipline forced upon me (but don’t get me wrong- the stomach ache and painful blisters were real!). When we arrived at our destination, a camp for inner-city kids in Erie, Pennsylvania, my two elderly leaders refused to let us have sugar (and as a sugar-holic I went through a painful withdrawal), and one night (probably tossing and turning and dreaming of brownies) I woke up to bears walking through our tent site! Yet, the next summer, two friends convinced me to go on another trip. Prepared for training camp and one year older, I began to really understand TTW’s mission and values, and I enjoyed my time much more.

TOUCH THE WORLD

TTW is dedicated to moving young people from apathy to energy by exemplifying God’s love through service. Coming from a conservative Presbyterian church (where church is more of a social club than a place to worship the creator of the universe), at first I held back and just watched from afar. Were these the crazy evangelical Christians occasionally shown on the news- people who condemned homosexuality and abortion with signs like, “Jesus hates fags” and brainwashed people? No. I quickly learned there was something different about these Christians at TTW. TTW is simply dedicated to love of God above all else and a love for people. They take the golden rule to “love your neighbor as yourself” literally and they promote peace around the world by training young people to go out and love others through community service projects and by building relationships.

The training and experiences I received at training camp and in various communities made it possible for me to travel by myself last summer to Kenya. This summer, I wanted to finish up a multi-media journal from my time there so I dedicated four days to training other teens, and thought that would be it for me. However, when I signed in as a volunteer I (some-what jokingly) said to a TTW staff member, “I packed my passport just in case!”

Later that day, another staff member found me and asked, “So about that passport, were you serious? Are you free?” Dreaming of Uganda or India or one of the more exotic trips, I briefly hesitated before answering, “Yes! I mean I would have to figure out if it would be possible. Why, where do you need me to go? Uganda?” He shook his head, “No, but we desperately need another leader for the Mississippi team, and we will cover all the expenses if you can go.” Oh, I thought, travel to the hottest region in the country in the middle of the summer to do construction on roofs? Hmmmm- totally not as exciting as Uganda. I decided to talk to my mom and think it over while TTW tried to see if they could get me a ticket.

A VERY SPECIAL, UNUSUAL TEAM

Later that day, the Mississippi team, all forty of them, arrived at the Drama tent for training. The team was unlike any team I had ever seen before (TTW teams are usually small). They came into our tent and filled up every chair and then scattered out on the ground. I looked at this huge team and stood in awe at the diversity. (Disclaimer: I do not work for TTW so this is not accurate, but this is just what I’ve gathered from observation). TTW teams usually hail youth and teenagers from affluent communities surrounding the metro area. Although there are always some exceptions, most of my teammembers from previous years have been white kids from similar backgrounds. But, here sat this team of youth of all different ethnicities (is that the politically correct way to say it now? I don’t know. I’m trying to say we had a diverse selection of the human colors represented- especially if you count me as red).  Anyway, the diversity surprised me, and my heart filled and my spirits lifted. Yes, this is the way Touch the World teams should always be. Yes, I feel more comfortable here now. Yes, the potential for this team is so HUGE. Yes, I want to join them and take on this unexpected challenge/opportunity God has given me. Yes, yes, yes!

After a few minutes of observing the team, I saw past the diversity and could see that again, this was no ordinary team. Some of the kids looked like adults, while some of them looked like really little, little kids. When I asked the leaders, one of them answered, “Yep. The ages range from 11-18!” Wow. What a challenge! (How one leads eleven year olds is very different than how one leads an eighteen year old, and TTW usually splits them up very differently)

Long story, and it is a VERY long story, short

I joined the team. Contrary to what one might expect with me, it was not an easy decision. In fact, it was a really difficult one. I had a lot of work to do at home, my family was planning a vacation to see my elderly grandparents, and I was nervous about health issues. After praying about it, and talking with some friends, I decided that I was really meant to join the team. There were too many coincidences and things that were just randomly “working out.” I told myself, “Julia, come on, you can do anything for two weeks, and they need you.” So, I joined the team. No, there was no nobleness here, just really, “you can do anything for two weeks.”

—- This is all I have time to update on tonight, but I promise sometime soon I will update with a part two about the actual team and trip —-

Here are some pictures of our team/trip until then! (The quotes are from Brian Andreas)

“I don’t think of it as working for world peace, he said. I think of it as just trying to get along in a really big strange family.”

When do you get to be a grown-up? she said. When you can read & write & lie without laughing, I said & her eyes got big & she said she didn’t know it was that hard

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other’s cooking & say it was good.

In the end, I think that I will like that we were sitting on the bed, talking & wondering where the time had gone.

What if we all got along & people loved each other & sang songs about peace? he said. Would that be a good world? & I said I didn’t know about that, but it would be a good summer camp & he looked at me & shook his head & said, It’s no wonder you’re leaving us with such a mess.

has some sort of disease where you hallucinate & start to not believe in love, but after a year or two, or even sometimes ten or twenty, it cures itself & all that’s left are a few little red spots that twinge & ache whenever you get too near someone else that has the disease & it’s all you can do to stop from reaching out & holding them close.

She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful & life was so short.

I held him close for only a short time, but after he was gone, I’d see his smile on the face of a perfect stranger & I knew he would be there with me all the rest of my days.

I also need to update with fall plans that I am SO EXCITED about! All this- coming soon.

J

Do you do something?

Last night I attended the Dosomething Awards at the world famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY and they were AWESOME. Do Something is an incredible organization that honors young change-makers and inspires other young people to DO SOMETHING. My favorite part (and  I think this is what sets them apart MOST from other organizations) is their tech-savvy, hip, youth directed approach. Growing up, I found it so difficult to find ways to get involved in causes I believed in. It was easy to join the travel soccer team (which I did), and easy to act in a play group theater (which I did), but so difficult to do the things I truly wanted to do. Many organizations had age limits or only let younger teens volunteer with parent chaperons. I spent months searching the net for organizations that would let my twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen year old self volunteer. Now, for kids itching to make the world a better place, the Do Something website offers tons of ways for kids to get involved:

• Animal Welfare
• Disaster Response And Relief
• Discrimination
• Education
• Environment
• Health And Fitness
• HIV And Sexuality
• International Human Rights
• Poverty
• Violence And Bullying
• War, Peace And Politics

Now . . . back to the awards! There were five incredible inspiring finalists, and you should check them all out. I mean, you should really, really, really check them all out. The winner, Maggie Doyne, BLEW ME AWAY. Maybe it’s because she’s living my dream and I see myself launching a similar project soon (more on that later), or maybe it’s because of her genuine personality, but she caught my attention immediately. Maggie took a gap year after highschool with the program LeapNow and while trekking through Asia she realized her potential to reach the war-torn orphans of Nepal. After her parents wired her her lifesavings ($5,000 from babysitting), Maggie bought a piece of land and built an orphanage. She is now the proud mother to over twenty kids, and she has sent countless more to school. Check out her journal for more information and ways to get involved!!

I have also been following the story of a girl named Katie in Uganda. My mom has been following her story (via blog entries) religiously for the past year, and has encouraged me (for months) to start reading it. But every time I tried to read it I would end up closing my computer crying. I would then enter my depressed, “why am I not there?” state. Now, I am planning to return in the fall/winter (someway, somehow, most likely to study Post-Conflict Transformation in Uganda/Rwanda), and I can again read about others. Anyway, back to Katie!! Go here. Please. Just do it. I want to write more about her but I’m pressed for time and in the off chance anyone arrives at my blog before I get a chance to finish this post, I want to point you to these two girls.

And go here to read about the other finalists!

Twitter Protest, Using Technology to Create Social Change

Twitter, what exactly is it?

Short answer- Twitter is a social networking cite that facilitates communication by allowing people to say what they are doing in 140 characters or less.

Long answer- Twitter is whatever the user wants it to be! Some use Twitter as a way to keep friends updated on events and social gatherings, while others use Twitter to share life moments. For example, someone might tweet, “At the hospital, the new baby is on the way!” and then follow up later with a picture and health details about the baby. Used this way, twitter helps people feel more connected despite distance.

Companies also turn to twitter as a way to connect with customers. For example, Whole Foods uses twitter to respond to customer questions, suggestions, and concerns, and to alert customers to new products and health information. The uses for Twitter continue to evolve. Just yesterday, I received an e-mail from twitter informing me that the user “wholefoods” is now following me. It made sense for me to follow them, for the reasons I mentioned above, but why would they follow me? Isn’t that just creepy? Well, I can’t speak on Whole Foods behalf, but I can say this. Twitter provides invaluable information about what people are talking about. Businesses  can track (literally) the thoughts of large groups of people and use the data to make smart business decisions about products and marketing strategies.

Using Technology to Create Social Change

Twitter and its uses (both socially and commercially) are really cool, but I am especially excited about what Twitter can do for GOOD. This past week, the world saw a new kind of protest in Moldova– a protest organized, and implemented with the help of Twitter. On Tuesday April 7th, more than 10,000 young protesters showed up to protest against Moldova’s Communist leadership and proceeded to vandalize government facilities. I don’t know, nor have the time to figure out the current state of affairs in Moldova, so I will keep this short and not focus on WHAT they protested but HOW they protested.

Using technology, Moldovans organized this huge protest primarily through text-messaging, Facebook and Twitter. By creating a searchable tag on Twitter, people around the world could learn about the protest, join the protect, or follow from afar. As the protest was happening, people on the ground uploaded firsthand accounts to share with the world. This is not the first time technology has been utilized to facilitate protests. In Kenya earlier this year, in Ukraine in 2004, and in Belarus in 2006, people turned to text messages and cell phones to send messages to large audiences.

What is so great about Twitter?

Mr. Moscovici, the man who managed the tweets in English, told the New York Times that he believed many people made an account for themselves just for the event. When asked why he thought Twitter was effective, he said, “When you follow somebody, you usually know this person, so you trust this person — it is coming from a real person, not an institution.”

Mr. Moscovici’s comment deeply resonates with me.  With all of this technology advancing at such a rapid pace, I have a hard time figuring out what to believe! We really must learn to question everything. People can create and alter sound with strokes on a keyboard, digitally alter pictures beyond recognition, and edit video. This means we have the ability to create sound bytes, images, and events that never happened! When used as a source for entertainment, like the film and TV industry, this isn’t really an issue. It becomes an issue when people distort facts, and use technology to create a reality that does not exist to incite a reaction, or to prevent action.

The news, where many of us turn to find out what’s happening around the world, cannot be trusted as a sole source for information. With all the politics and economics behind every opinion, people are careful about what they say. Using certain rhetoric to describe an event influences how millions around the world perceive it and react to it. On top of that, newspapers have their own agendas. They pick and choose what they consider newsworthy and pass it along to the public. This is just one of probably many reasons why horrific situations can grow out of control before anyone takes action to stop it. During the Holocaust, for example, the death of thousands (which turned into the death of millions) could be found in the back section of American newspapers. Ah. I have to write more often, I have so much to say on this and so little time! I’ll finish up by going back to Twitter.

Where can we turn for the truth? Well, real people are good places to start! Governments can prevent journalists from entering into a country, but the people are always there. Therefore, it is crucial for connections to stay open. The internet and twitter and facebook are just more ways to connect. Of course, I am skipping over the fact that a government can censor the internet, or just plain shut it off. For now, I will leave you with two moving videos. The first, “Did you know?” mixes statistics with some techno music. I am not sure whether the purpose of the video is to inspire or to frighten, but regardless, it will make you think! Some quesitons to keep in mind as you watch: Do you believe it? Just some of it, or all of it? How does the presentation affect how you receive and process the information? And of course, “what does this all mean?”

This next one is from a Dove commercial.