Over the years, I’ve worked with a variety of different young people to build youth voice. When I was younger, some people did that for me, too, despite our differences. I was an immigrant kid from the country, a rodeo rider who wore cowboy boots and corduroy pants.

Later, I was a homeless kid and then lived in a low-income neighborhood. Generational PTSD and addiction flowed easily in my family, and my social defense mechanisms were high – biting humor and cynical perspectives and many other signs.

I was not what you think. Instead, I was a dynamic, empowered and excited young person who bumped into some rough edges, was challenged to grow and change, and became who I am today. And I’m still growing and changing.

As I sit here in Seattle, I’ve just closed my second Parent Youth Connection Seminar. The young people here are generally seen and treated as disengaged, but as the brainstorm here shows, they are anything but. I would tell anyone who asked that its not what you think.

What are you engaged in?

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