Official Start Time: 6:00 p.m.
Date: 3/20/09
Official End Time: 7:00 p.m.
Today was the epic day of our meeting with Congressman John Larson as me, Jay, and Steve hauled our way to Hartford and got ready to meet Congressman John Larson. So, to take you back, Steve got the chance to schedule a meeting with Congressman John Larson about the schools for peace initiative. The schools for peace initiative is about federal dollars being used for educational reform. Our goal today was to prove that New School Student Ambassadors embodies literally all the elements this initiative seeks. I can't really just say our goal since it wasn't just me, Jay and Steve but Jacey, Steven, Tori, Miguel, Angel, and countless other faces who came to show their support and share their stories about how New School Student Ambassadors and the programs we run embody all the elements this initiative seeks.
So as we're driving to Hartford, I find myself adrift in the conversation. Over the last couple of days, I was working hard to get people to talk about the issue and how the service we provide embodies these elements. It was tough, but I did get a couple of educators and students to reply but not as many as I wanted. So while we're riding in the car, I begin to reflect about the program and how it relates to the real world in terms of what would a potential investor say if we came to him with this proposition? What would he expect by investing into our program? Does education hold a price we are willing to pay? All questions that only triggered feelings and thoughts that I know are dangerous in the mind of a stubborn child.
I began to think about the Confucius hierarchy and how time and time again, we represent pawns in a giant game of chess. I remember thinking of the people that were going and was it right for them to be there? I thought of Alex and why he didn't come? I thought of the Newtown kids and why they came? And I thought about me, Jay, and Steve; why were we here? What was our purpose? Was our reasoning pure?
As you could imagine I wasn't the biggest talker on the car ride there and the question only continued to accumulate as we got closer to our destination. Little by little, I felt the questions started to answer themselves as we sat listening to the meeting and waiting for our turn to participate.
I began to think about our purpose and how it would fair against potential investors. In many ways, the timid soul would resist such daring moves as times are tough and people see education at the bottom of their list when it comes to government spending. The noble act of giving back to your community seems to slip away when we see money that could be in our pockets.
I began to think about the Confucius hierarchy and the roles we represent. Are me, Jay, and the other participants of previous cultural exchange programs just kids that resemble nothing more than young voices being active in their community or are we of value and do we have a purpose?
Finally, I began to think about the people who were there and what kind of role they played. I remember Steve being there and of course this is his company and his chance to make a difference. It wouldn't be a meeting without Steve. I remember a representative from the Board of Education being there in concerns to preparing Connecticut for the global economy. Her mission was to I guess validate what we're doing and not just make it seem like some crazy old guy with a bunch of kids asking for help. Additionally, I remember the students: Jay, Tori, Jacey, Steven, Miguel, Angel, and myself, being there and how our stories seemed to battle against each other.
At the meeting, Steve started by introducing the issue and talking about the community we have on the site and the service it provides. Steve also talked about 3 Cups of Tea and how the main characters gift of education was something we were trying to do through our cultural exchange programs. The conversation grew dry after a while as our audience wasn't immediately impressed with what we had to offer and really thought that it would be quicker to let us say what we had to say then argue as to why it wouldn't work out.
Sharing our stories really got weird as I became the glory child. I'm not sure who started first but I remember making notes in my head about all the big issues I wanted to mention. Steve basically called me a social entrepreneur who was in charge of the site and the content being shared. It was nice that I was finally being recognized for all the work I do, but it made me think as to why all the other participant were there. Jay for instance hasn't been on the site for months, and yet tries to portray himself as a noble who works countless hours giving back to the community. Jacey, Steven, and Tori are almost never on the site and I can't exactly blame them; they neither claim being on the site nor leaders as to what goes on on the site. Miguel and Angel are two old faces who aim to go back to China because I guess had a really good time the first time around so why not do it again. Feeling this way isn't easy for you know that saying these things or even feeling them make you seem like a horrible person. No one wants to hear the truth, especially those spewing it.
The meeting finally came to an end as we walked down to the lobby and said good bye as casually as we said hello. It was great seeing old friends and I really do wish we stay in touch more often. I however fear that China cannot be the only thing holding us together and its about time we grow up if we want our lives to move forward and on to bigger and better things. We need to realize (or maybe I need to realize) that we can't play this game forever and that we need to choose our own paths towards the future. Hopefully this path doesn't mean abandoning the things, people, and places we love.
Sincerely, Hector Guzman
Date: 3/20/09
Official End Time: 7:00 p.m.
Today was the epic day of our meeting with Congressman John Larson as me, Jay, and Steve hauled our way to Hartford and got ready to meet Congressman John Larson. So, to take you back, Steve got the chance to schedule a meeting with Congressman John Larson about the schools for peace initiative. The schools for peace initiative is about federal dollars being used for educational reform. Our goal today was to prove that New School Student Ambassadors embodies literally all the elements this initiative seeks. I can't really just say our goal since it wasn't just me, Jay and Steve but Jacey, Steven, Tori, Miguel, Angel, and countless other faces who came to show their support and share their stories about how New School Student Ambassadors and the programs we run embody all the elements this initiative seeks.
So as we're driving to Hartford, I find myself adrift in the conversation. Over the last couple of days, I was working hard to get people to talk about the issue and how the service we provide embodies these elements. It was tough, but I did get a couple of educators and students to reply but not as many as I wanted. So while we're riding in the car, I begin to reflect about the program and how it relates to the real world in terms of what would a potential investor say if we came to him with this proposition? What would he expect by investing into our program? Does education hold a price we are willing to pay? All questions that only triggered feelings and thoughts that I know are dangerous in the mind of a stubborn child.
I began to think about the Confucius hierarchy and how time and time again, we represent pawns in a giant game of chess. I remember thinking of the people that were going and was it right for them to be there? I thought of Alex and why he didn't come? I thought of the Newtown kids and why they came? And I thought about me, Jay, and Steve; why were we here? What was our purpose? Was our reasoning pure?
As you could imagine I wasn't the biggest talker on the car ride there and the question only continued to accumulate as we got closer to our destination. Little by little, I felt the questions started to answer themselves as we sat listening to the meeting and waiting for our turn to participate.
I began to think about our purpose and how it would fair against potential investors. In many ways, the timid soul would resist such daring moves as times are tough and people see education at the bottom of their list when it comes to government spending. The noble act of giving back to your community seems to slip away when we see money that could be in our pockets.
I began to think about the Confucius hierarchy and the roles we represent. Are me, Jay, and the other participants of previous cultural exchange programs just kids that resemble nothing more than young voices being active in their community or are we of value and do we have a purpose?
Finally, I began to think about the people who were there and what kind of role they played. I remember Steve being there and of course this is his company and his chance to make a difference. It wouldn't be a meeting without Steve. I remember a representative from the Board of Education being there in concerns to preparing Connecticut for the global economy. Her mission was to I guess validate what we're doing and not just make it seem like some crazy old guy with a bunch of kids asking for help. Additionally, I remember the students: Jay, Tori, Jacey, Steven, Miguel, Angel, and myself, being there and how our stories seemed to battle against each other.
At the meeting, Steve started by introducing the issue and talking about the community we have on the site and the service it provides. Steve also talked about 3 Cups of Tea and how the main characters gift of education was something we were trying to do through our cultural exchange programs. The conversation grew dry after a while as our audience wasn't immediately impressed with what we had to offer and really thought that it would be quicker to let us say what we had to say then argue as to why it wouldn't work out.
Sharing our stories really got weird as I became the glory child. I'm not sure who started first but I remember making notes in my head about all the big issues I wanted to mention. Steve basically called me a social entrepreneur who was in charge of the site and the content being shared. It was nice that I was finally being recognized for all the work I do, but it made me think as to why all the other participant were there. Jay for instance hasn't been on the site for months, and yet tries to portray himself as a noble who works countless hours giving back to the community. Jacey, Steven, and Tori are almost never on the site and I can't exactly blame them; they neither claim being on the site nor leaders as to what goes on on the site. Miguel and Angel are two old faces who aim to go back to China because I guess had a really good time the first time around so why not do it again. Feeling this way isn't easy for you know that saying these things or even feeling them make you seem like a horrible person. No one wants to hear the truth, especially those spewing it.
The meeting finally came to an end as we walked down to the lobby and said good bye as casually as we said hello. It was great seeing old friends and I really do wish we stay in touch more often. I however fear that China cannot be the only thing holding us together and its about time we grow up if we want our lives to move forward and on to bigger and better things. We need to realize (or maybe I need to realize) that we can't play this game forever and that we need to choose our own paths towards the future. Hopefully this path doesn't mean abandoning the things, people, and places we love.
Sincerely, Hector Guzman
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