thursday night was a good night. not only did i get 15 hours of mostly uninterupted sleep (i say mostly because i woke up twice to drink water, and once to get rid of the water), but i got to attend an incredible youth community night at Youth Advocates in Houston. you can read all about that organization at www.youthadvocates.org they are very nice people, by the way.
at any rate, i was at the YA office for three hours on thursday night, and even though i'd been up since 5:45 that morning, i was totally riveted. there was breakdancing, skate boarding, an mc contest, and of all things-- chess. a group of like 80 kids gets together at the YA office once a week to just be together. they dance, they skate, they play chess, they eat pizza, and they are loved. it was incredible to see all that happen-- no programming, no fabulous pretty room, no overinvolved crazy parents (quite the opposite, i'm afraid, for most of them), no bells or whistles-- just those kids, in their space, doing their own thing-- drug free, violence free, and just happy to be there. it was incredible.
watching them dance, watching them skate, hearing them rap, and seeing them play chess in the midst of all that noise and action was incredible. they were amazing. some of the kids who dance at YA are internationally known breakdancers. i even got to watch them battle! it was so different and exciting from anything i've ever seen before. i felt refreshed, inspired, and happy just to know that a place like that existed in the world.
life is good.
love--rachel
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