Explore 2019: Hope for the Future

So let's have some real talk about schools. Over the years I have heard *so* many parents freak out about getting into the "best" schools. And while of course, more affluent schools have advantages, really, IMO the secret sauce to a kid's growth is how kids, parents, and teachers fill in/tailor the gaps to help kids thrive at stuff that lights them up.

I don't live in the best school district. This freaks my Mom out but I'm not remotely concerned about it.

Why? Today marks the third in a series of incredible ways that teachers have put opportunities in front of Laurel this year. The first two involved an elite writing competition + a writing/photography college fellowship program -- Laurel had to apply to both and had an incredible experience with both. And holy moly, Laurel spent the day at the State House today for Day on the Hill, where she got to see educational legislative advocacy in action and meet representatives.

I knew nothing about this program and needed to Google it before signing the permission form. Just yesterday someone told me it has been running for some time and it is a big deal to be selected as a student leader.

I can say with some certainty that at 14 years old I was not really thinking about much of consequence (no offense to the mix tapes I worked hard on making with my purple boombox). And really, I only began to understand advocacy maybe 6 years ago and then it took a while for me to identify as an advocate. The fact that Laurel (and her friends too!) think about big issues and how to solve problems gives me enormous hope for the future. The children will save us!

📷 by Laurel