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BRMA/YLI Super Writers! From left to right: Bryan Rodriguez, Aatia Davison, Carol Centeno, Darwin Garcia, Karron Armstrong, Kevin Garcia, Mrs. Bunner, Alberto Franco, Rubi Erika Franco, Jose Portillo. Not pictured: LayLai Wei

Summer Writing Institute

Hear Our Voices

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In July of 2012, 10 amazing BRMA/YLI students gathered on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill. What follows on these pages is just some of the amazing writing that came out of our 4 short days together. World, take note: We will be hearing more from these young people! To find out more about the Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate Program or the Blue Ribbon Youth Leadership Institute, visit us at : blueribbonmentors.org

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Endless Possibilities My slim hands are not meant to hold the whole world. So, when you ask me what would I become? I cannot tell you what I don’t see. So, when you ask me questions that even I can’t see clear. But I’ll tell you what I have imagined already. I see these slim hands holding a paintbrush. Not for visual art. I hold this paintbrush to stroke the possibilities, I could see myself do. I could travel the world by just reading 3 sentences of my favorite novel. I could write poetry in hopes I could open people’s true desires. I could see the scenery of the most beautiful places and catch it with my hand and hold on to as if it were my favorite lullaby. I could fight for lost causes in hopes I could become a hero. Alas, I know that these are things I could never do. So, I’ll keep dreaming and hoping Until I am at a stump and I know, I belong here.  Carol  C.                      

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   I am from hundreds of beautiful plants. From fresh lemonade I am from Nana’s beautiful garden, Full of colorful flowers We watered every day. I am from a lemon tree Decorated by big, green, juicy lemons Ready to be picked. I remember the smell of hand washed clothes That Nana hung on long ropes. I am Mexican rhythm, I am LOVE, ‘Te quiero mucho mija’ and ‘ahy mi rubisita’. I am the love and care of Mi viejita and adorable abuelito. I am the spice inside a Delicious tamale. The sweetness in Leche Abuelita. I am one who cares for all. I am still the old kitchen play set Given to me at five. I am my doll Lollita, Small, fragile, and alone. I am one who desperately cries for her people, Ripped away from my loved ones at SIX. I am dreams, hope and determination. I am from those moments of happiness, Those moments that no longer exist. From those memories in my heart and mind. Each keeping me alive.  Rubi’  F.          

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 Yo soy de miles de plantas hermosas De limonada fresca Yo soy de el jardin hermosa de mi abuelita Lleno de flores coloridas Que regabamos con agua todos los dias Yo soy de un arbol de limones Decorado con limones grandes, verdes y jugosos Todos listos para ser deshilachados Recuerdo el olor de ropa recien lavada La que mi abuelita colgaba en cuerdas. Soy ritmo mexicano, Soy AMOR, ‘Te quiero mucho mija’ y ‘ahy mi rubisita’. Soy el amor y cuidado de Mi viejita y querido abuelito. Soy el picante dentro de un Delicioso tamale. La dulcura en Leche Abuelita Yo soy una que quiere a todos Yo soy mi juego viejo de platos de cocina Obsequiado a mi a los cinco anos Yo soy mi muneca lolita, Chiquita, fragil y sola. Yo soy una que llora desesperadamente por su gente, Arrancada de mis seres queridos a los 6 anos Yo soy suenos, esperanza y determinacion. Yo soy de esos momentos de felicidad, Esos momentos que lla no existen. De esos momentos en mi corazon y mente. Cada uno manteniendome con vida.  Rubi’  F.            

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   Shooter Its seeing the universe open up right before your eyes, As the stars and planets swirl into one. Make a wish, There it is, Flying through the night's sky, A shooting star come to bless us as it passes by. I close my eyes Breathe for a moment, And think to myself "Just what is it I want most?" The glitz? The glamour? The noise? The clamour? The chaos that lies beyond? No, no, never that, But instead I want this moment, This very snapshot in time, Though raw, Unpolished, And unrefined, To keep in my heart so as to always remain, Forever, Treasured, Mine. Aatia D.

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Young Life I used to be a quiet kid and I wasn’t satisfied with my life. Unless I knew you, I wouldn’t talk to you no matter what. When I arrived at Young Life club after wrestling practice, I sat in the corner by myself while new faces surrounded me with smiles. I was so quiet that I choked before I could say “hi”, and I forgot my name when new beautiful faces would ask. But, after ten minutes I didn’t feel awkward anymore. I cleared my throat, remembered my name and said “Hi my name is Darwin. What’s yours?” Since day one I was hooked in Young Life club. Young Life is a Christian club; they don’t preach for two hours, but we play games and then we learn lifelong lessons. I had never met a group of people who were so extroverted. Every time I went to Young Life club I felt like an onion slowly peeling away my layers of shyness and eventually finding my confidence. Before I attended Young Life, I wasn’t satisfied with life. I wanted more out of my life. I grew up in the poor ghetto in Montebello, Colorado, where the crime rate was sky high and where my family of four lived in a small one-bedroom apartment before moving to North Carolina. During my junior year in high school I wanted what everybody else had in high school: a car, house, laptop, iPhone, etc. My parents can’t afford any of that. I was frustrated towards my parents because they couldn’t provide me with things most kids my age had. I now realize that it was ignorant of me to blame them because my parents grew up in poverty and were refugees during the civil war in El Salvador. They gave me everything they had to give. Young Life helped me understand that I’m never going to feel satisfied in life. Harrison, my Young Life leader, showed me a video of Tom Brady. Despite winning three Super Bowls, Tom Brady was not satisfied with his life. Harrison told me that life is never going to be satisfying for humans, because we humans always want more. Harrison told me that God is the only one who can satisfy our lives, which is true to me because I believe in God. It’s a slow process. I can’t feel satisfied overnight. But over time I will feel completely satisfied. Young Life gave me confidence and brought me closer to God. I encourage anybody who wants to experience something new to attend Young Life! Darwin G.

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Permanent Scar Friday morning, a couple days after the EOG’s, I found out I had failed the math EOG by 3 points. This meant I had to go through review and retake the test. After fifteen minutes, I got bored and start playing with my black and brown tech deck. “Karron! Karron! Psst ,karron, let me see your tech deck. It looks fun “Tykeem says as if he had ants in his pants. “ No,”I replied. “Man, come on let me see it!” “Okay,” I said as I tossed it to him. Ten minutes passed and I asked for it back. He said something insulting that I couldn’t quite hear. I believed he said something about my mom.So, in return I said something about his mom. In retaliation, he snapped my tech deck in half. The bell rang like a cow bell to let out class. The school resource officer was outside the door patrolling the hallway when we angrily walked out. The officer instantly knew that here was going to be a fight, so he grabbed Tykeem and took him to the office. The day went on normally and finally the bell rang to let out school. I rode the city bus home and some of Tykeem’s friends were on the bus running their mouths like birds chirping about what had happened like they were there. This one girl named Rajene sat down looking as hard as nails and started running her mouth about what happened between me and Tykeem. They all started screaming and yelling about what Tykeem is going to do this and that. The weekend passed as calm as a millipede, I arrived at school Monday morning coming up to a person named David, that looks like he is going to try and fight me and hit me when he saw me. This boy named Romeo was trying to instigate it to further measures. I threw my book bag down getting ready to fight. Then David says “I’m going to leave him for Tykeem. “The bell rings to start the day, so I go to my locker and unlocked it and I saw a lot of people come like a heard of cows. Then Tykeem walks up talking about non-sense, so I hit him in his jaw and the war began. My heart was beating a million times a minute like a bass stereo. I walked backwards so I wouldn’t get hit he is still swinging like a drummer hits a drum. As I was walking backwards I step on one of his friends new shoes so he join the fight and helps Tykeem. So then Jamar picks up a lock and hits me with it the hit was close to my temple the hit left a ¾ inch gash, teacher teacher run as every one fled the scene. Six stitches were put in for healing, the way this incident changed me was you really never know in life is who your real friends are and watch what you say to people.

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Kaarron A. Beaner, Wetback, illegal alien. You scream at me, You deprive me of my dreams My voice my thoughts and my self-esteem. You never stop to think of me You judge us all with ease. But when that day comes, When you need my help I will extend my hand Despite what you said back then. And hopefully you will change your mind about this Beaner, Wetback, illegal alien. Jose P.

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Hope In Montbello, Colorado there is a Boys and Girls Club where my brother and I would go every day. I always considered the Boys & Girls Club a second home, somewhere where I felt safe. It was a typical day at the club when I heard someone announce on the intercom that college students were coming over to hang out with us for six weeks. At that time I was about nine and I really didn’t care too much. When they arrived they I thought they looked a little too happy to see us. There was an announcement about a movie club hosted by one of the college students. I had nothing better to do so I gave it a try. When I entered the room I was greeted by Hope. She looked about 19 to 20 with short brown hair, a couple of freckles on her nose and the most gorgeous brown eyes. She was wearing khaki pants and a green shirt. She asked for my name, but back then I was painfully shy and I barely managed to whisper, “Kevin.” “ Well Kevin, I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends!” and we were. There were about ten of us in the movie club. When she put on the first movie, everyone started leaving because they said it was too boring and old. I stayed because I didn’t want to leave her alone. Too bad everyone left because the movie she put on was amazing, a classic really, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was just me and her watching the movie. She was telling me all about what was going on in the movie, telling me Nazis are bad and what archeology meant. When the movie was over I found out there were two more and I asked her if we could watch them, and Hope, being the kind-hearted person she was, said yes. So there we were watching the adventures of Indiana Jones talking about our favorite movies and life. When the movie ended I asked her when the next movie club was, she said there was not going to be a next club. I was disappointed and I think she saw how disappointed I was, so she said, “Hey, we can still hangout and watch movies”, so we did. Hope and I were the best of friends, always talking and watching movies. She would teach me to be nice to people and have compassion for everything. Hope’s life was all about movies, she would always talk about them and she would tell me her ideas for film ideas she had, it was the time of my life for me. One day there was an announcement about a dodge ball tournament and Hope and I decided to join. There were about 50 people on each side in a gym that was fairly big, the walls were blue and orange the colors of the Denver broncos, and the lights were bright yellow which stung the eyes a bit. The temperature was hot and

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everyone was pumped up. When the game started, Hope and I were doing such a great job that we were the last 2 against about 15 other people, then Hope got hit and there I was alone. There wasn’t much I could do unless I caught the ball or tried to shoot a hoop in the other team’s basket and get all my teammates back in the game. So there I was, this short, shy kid who was being yelled at by all my teammates to catch a ball. I could see their faces and every single one of them was frowning, cursing and screaming at me to do something. Everyone but Hope. She was literally the only one who had a smile on her face and was cheering for me. So in my mind I said “This one’s for you ,Hope” and I tried to shoot the ball in the basketball hoop. Then the screaming and cussing got even louder, I missed the shot. It was a pretty weak throw and I was lucky they didn’t catch it. There were 18 year olds screaming at me and even my friends were cussing at me. Hope never lost hope in me and continued to cheer for me with that great big smile of hers. So in my head I said again, “This one’s for you Hope” and I closed my eyes and shot. The gym went silent, then it got louder than ever before and I thought “Oh crap, I blew it!” and I kept my eyes closed because I was too ashamed to see everyone, but mostly because I didn’t want to see Hope disappointed. Then someone gave me a great big hug and lifted me up. I opened my eyes and it was Hope and I noticed that every one of my teammates was back on the court. I quickly realized that I made the shot and I saved the game. “You did it ,Kevin! I’m so proud of you” said Hope. We ended up winning that game and I was praised by all my teammates that day. I’ve got to say it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. A few weeks later it was time for my good friend Hope to leave. I always knew this day would come, but would never think about it. I told Hope that I would miss her and that I would never forget her and gave her a big hug. I really didn’t want her to leave, but she had to go. She also said she would miss me and then gave me a bag of Cheetos because she knew they were my favorite. While she was walking out the door she looked back, smiled and waved at me. That was the last time I saw her. I really miss her and always wonder how she is doing, hopefully she’s good. I will never forget all the lessons she taught me. I will never forget her love for movies, her smile, her kindness, but most of all I’ll never forget that she always had faith in me while no one else did. This one’s for you Hope. Kevin G.

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I saw the new Batman last night, Best movie I've ever seen. Batman started at 12 AM, I came home to rest at 4 AM. I love the theaters, A place where you can find, Laughter, fear, love, excitement, I found fear and excitement, Others found death, 12 people died this morning, During the Batman premiere, In Aurora Colorado theaters. I used to live in Aurora, And I used to go to the same theater. I was heartbroken his morning, That could have happened to me. Life is short, And it can be taken from you, In the blink of an eye, So live your life at its max, And tell everyone you love, That you love them And forgive all those who have hurt you, Because life is too short to be angry Darwin G.

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I am from the radiant sun beating down on me as a kid I am from the sweat caused by the black and white sphere I am from the rough patch of grass where kids fled to play I am from the stories of Chespirito I am a green white and red bald eagle You see, I grew up in Mexico but we left when I was only 4 years old And my brain can’t store all the memories I wish it could hold But I will tell you this If growing up has taught me anything It’s that I am a wisher I wish people wouldn’t judge each other I wish everyone would treat every other human being, as their equal But it’s not that simple Which is why I wish I could grab onto the bubbles of thoughts in my head And embed them on the world I am from the classroom filled with mathematical expressions and numbers I am from the small, yet cozy home I am from the, “Use Duct Tape” household... I am the power in rangers If I had the world in the palms of my hands, I would use duct tape to tape all the good, genuine love to our world Then I’d shake it to get rid of all the hatred and poverty But I wouldn’t let them fall to the ground NO I would blow my thought bubbles Extend my hand And bring them inside my small, loving home Alberto F.

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Untitled I remember holding my hand out to you. You were cruel and bitter to me. I smiled and accepted the fact… You were lonely You wanted to feel that warm feeling in your chest You wanted what everyone wanted: Happiness. You walked among the crowds Always seeking for happiness Yet everyone kept you at arm’s length. I didn’t. I accepted you. You took my hand and went to an unknown place. I wasn’t afraid of you. For you are my old friend, Death Carol C.

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There is so much I wish to tell you So much I wish to share. But what exactly would you believe? I myself am at a stump. The things that seem to be true, Seem to be lies by others. Yet these lies I hold on to, hold some truth. If anything, I wish to show you my fears, I fear the darkness. But that hole in your heart, That blackness in your soul. That is one thing I truly fear. But to know you can never escape it, Is unbearable for me to hear. And so, I fight for unnecessary things. The sun burning bright on a summer’s eve, The secrets that the wind carries.. Alas, all of us knew I couldn’t I never could. My mind seems to have drawn a blank, My face is haunted by it once more. You won’t ever stop, Will you? Carol C.