And I Had…The Time Of My Li-i-i-fe

40 Days. 32 States. 1 Canadian Province. 7373 Miles. 150 Venture Teams. 5000 Young People. 2 Lost Bags. 10 Days Without Clean Clothes. It was most certainly an adventure to say the least. Malena and I began on February 11th in Anaheim, California at the Taylor home by throwing a family BBQ (naturally) and I finished the adventure March 26th in Washington, DC after zig-zagging north, east, south, east, north, further north, west, south, east, north and south again. We moved from wearing shorts under the sunny skies of California to bundling up in down jackets to fend off the sub-zero temperatures of Minnesota.



No matter where we were one thing remained consistent: young people are doing incredible things to fundamentally reshape their schools, cities, states and country. From a 12-year-old in Seattle who has raised more than $10,000 in just three months to fund girls scholarships in Rwanda to 20-year-olds in New England who have brought arts into the lives of hundreds of children, they gave life to this idea that young people can be Powerful now. Changemakers now.



Still, for whatever reason, there are those who doubt. Who say this is a figment of our imagination, and that their work is the exception and not the rule. New agencies that say this “isn’t a story” and that there is “nothing significant there.” Well I have 8000 pictures, 60 hours of video, 200 interviews, 100 blog entries and a network of millions of young people who might think otherwise. Yes, this isn’t a majority YET but when in history has it taken a majority of people to change the world? From ending religious extremism to guaranteeing the right to vote for ever American, powerful minorities have time and time again reshaped the way we think and live, truly changing our world.



This will absolutely be the greatest global movement to ever take shape, so here is my advice to you: Pay attention. Know your facts. Understand these “crazy kids.” Why? Because if you don’t you’re going to wake up in 20 years and realize that we somehow managed to take control of everything without ever rustling a feather. This is a silent revolution but have no fear: we will be heard, whether it’s in the townships of South Africa, favellas of Brazil or inner cities of America. Change is-a-comin’. Are you coming too?



With that, I think it’s important to cite what was perhaps the greatest success of the road trip; the simple fact that Malena and I did not have one single fight. It was nothing but smiles, laughs, mix cds and the occasional “moment of silence.” All told, I could not have found a better road mate, so thank you girl. You rock.

From here, it’s all about reflecting on the experience and offering some commentary, so stay tuned. Plus, my Asian adventure begins in just 2 weeks. China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, here I come. Woo!

Teen Second Life

The highlight of New York (besides hanging out with Kumar) had to be the Teen Second Life Virtual meet-up we did. Now, some of you, like me, may not have heard of Teen Second Life (or the adult version, aptly named “Second Life”). Even at 23 I feel way to old to really “get” this whole thing and found myself for months saying things I never thought I would ever say. “Why are kids spending so much time cooped up on a computer? They should be outside playing in the sun.” 60 minutes in this near perfect world and while I’m not in love, I do have a newfound appreciation for the concept.

Well then, what’s it all about? Basically, it’s your own “second life.” You create an avatar (that’s TSL lingo for a virtual version of you), eat food, build a house, go shopping, make friends, make enemies, work and yes, even buy stock (the market is doing a lot better than the “real” market, though I’m not sure if that’s saying a whole lot…).


Yes, it’s just as bizarre as you’re thinking it is. Honestly and truly, it’s like living life, only nothing bad happens (it’s impossible to die), you can look like whatever you want to look like and you can even fly, which is – no doubt – something we all want to do! With this freedom to be whoever you want comes a certain universal equality and equity. Yes, things cost money (and it’s real money – you ACTUALLY buy things in this artificial world) but at some level, if you can program and compute, you can play big-time. In fact, one can even make money! You can sell a trade, a good, or a service that is within Teen Second Life.

On that same note, you can help “change” Teen Second Life by launching NGOs, starting advocacy projects, hosting virtual rallies and protests and even launching a virtual venture. Ashoka’s Youth Venture just entered this arena and wow, is it taking off.


I did my same song and dance only it wasn’t me, it was a little virtual version of me sitting in our perfect DIDI Café (Dream It Do It Café) on our ideal Youth Venture Island, which is also home to The DIDI Institute, the DIDI Resource Center and the DIDI Amphitheater. Ten “people” showed up to listen and following the presentation, entered a workshop room to do a virtual simulation (if you’re virtually simulating, is that like, an entirely different dimension altogether). They sat on cushions, raised their hands, brainstormed; all online in this land. If you can’t tell already, I was thoroughly overwhelmed.


I think it’s wonderful what we’re doing – reaching young people where they are, helping them use their unique passion (in this case, computer programming) to solve problems they see in whatever dimension they love. Still, on a broader societal level it leaves me wondering a few things – has this world gotten so bad that we need to completely escape it by going to a virtual one? If that’s the case then should we be attempting to recreate the ideals within that virtual world right here in reality? To me it all stems from consumption of things. We can’t have them in the real world so we go to a virtual one where we can create any reality we want – great clothes, great friends, great places (our amphitheater is SO COOL).

The strange thing is, when I was 13, I don’t remember craving so much that I wanted to escape entirely and recreate myself somewhere that I could have everything. So maybe, rather than up the ante so much that kids are reinventing themselves in another realm, we increases resources and lower the “celebrity standard” in this one. I don’t know, just an idea…

Post Secret!

So, it appears someone posted a “secret” about me on www.postsecret.com. While it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, A close friend did translate the Polish for me:

"I narrator every (ow: not a word anyone would use today which can mean person) I am we speaking polish otherwise I am clearly a liar for you everything!"
She followed that by saying:
It is poorly conjugated (I even double checked with my mom about the OW word (i have never heard that word and she said "unless they are 80, you would not hear that word"))

After lots of thinking and conferring with friends, I’ve decided that it probably has nothing to do with me and instead, someone found the photo of me online and decided to use it to tell their secret. Still, totally bizarre to see my face there. If you have any other leads by all means, let me know!

In other news, Malena and I were also “blogged” celebrating her birthday in Atlanta. You’ll find that photo on www.bestkisses.com or by clicking here.

Shirley Massachusetts – Youth Venture Heaven

What happens after one, two and three teams launch from the same school or community? The idea of creating change tips and before you know it, you’ve got TWENTY THREE Youth Venture’s running with dozens more in the pipeline. Kathryn Lions, Youth Venture’s amazing champion, brought the YV opportunity to the kids she worked with as school librarian six years ago and today, she’s working with literally hundreds of kids throughout the town to launch and sustain Ventures. From lit magazines to skate parks, the kids of Shirley might very well be the most socially active town in America. I had the chance to speak to all 300 or so kids of Shirley Middle School and let me say, no social issue was too small (In the fifth grade session one girl raised the need for expanding the use of renewable energy sources and another girl brought up the use of endangered animal furs as clothes. Now you tell me this generation isn’t going to change the world. When I was in fifth grade my primary concerns were four square and lunch trades). I also got to meet some of our amazing Shirley teams.


There was the Rolled Up Paper, a group of fourth graders that act as editor, writer and photographer to produce a monthly newspaper dealing with issues in their elementary school. A recent edition had a young writing blowing the lid off talking during lunch under a pen name, of course.


Then there’s Nick and Molly, who started a Literary Magazine in their middle school so kids would have a place to publish their poems, stories, photographs and music lyrics. It was the first of its kind in Shirley.



I met the Skaters of Shirley, who are raising funds to build a town skate park, which will offer a safe, responsible place for kids to ride without damaging public property. They’re raised over $10,000 for the effort and are currently embroiled in a major PR and lobbying campaign to convince the town government that there needs should be met.



Finally, there’s Caitlin. Basically, she’s ma gurl. At age 10 she started Shirley Arts For All, an organization that raises funds for kids in Shirley who can’t afford the fees to be in plays. They’ve raised thousands of dollars to help fund those kids who would otherwise not be able to participate. Now fourteen, it’s clear in the way she thinks, writes and talks that Caitling understand just how remarkable this global movement is, and what it is capable of.

She spoke eloquently to her peers (which in and of itself is no easy task) about the incredible “power of not brute strength or money, but the power to be inspired and to empower others.” Indeed, that’s what’s at the heart of it – inspiration and a sense of empowerment that makes young people realize just how capable and influential they are. I wish I could fold her up and carry her across the country in my pocket! She’s a natural born leader and I am SO EXCITED to see where the future takes her…Rock on Caitlin!

Montreal Part 1: Living The Dream

I land in Montreal, deal with the onslaught of disaster in the form of missing bags, thousands of Montrealers returning from Florida and horrific road conditions only to be swept away by what is positively the coolest city in North America. It’s like a mini-Europe; cool cafes, amazing architecture, friendly multilingual people, a “staple” food and universal health care. Yes, I said it. Universal Health Care. As someone who just got slapped with a $44,000 bill to have shoulder surgeries that lasted a combined four hours, I must say that showing up, being worked on then going home really wins out, I beg anyone to differ.

I went straight to meet a team at Rapido Café in downtown Montreal (where they forced me to eat a delectable bowl of Poutine – fries covered in gravy and special Quebec cheese). I wasn’t complaining. Ophelie & Cory (unfortunately, my brain was still dead, so I forgot to take their picture) launched In Their Shoes last October with the help of five other interested now-friends, aimed at raising awareness about major global social issues in elementary and high school classrooms. From the Rwandan Genocide to the current situation in Darfur, they encourage students to think critically about what happened then go beyond, challenging the young people to find ways to help create change in their own worlds. There’s no question this project is going somewhere!


Then it was bed, as Nicolina (our AMAZING Ashoka’s Youth Venture Canada Director) had an extremely full day planned – 5 teams in 12 hours located all over the city. We were up at six and out the door by seven, only to sit in “weather traffic” for nearly an hour. It was, of course, absolutely worth it!


We started with ToutiFruits, a soon-to-be Venture team that identified a serious need for healthy food options in their school’s cafeteria. To meet this need, they decided to launch their own co-op smoothie company, using all natural (and organic when possible) ingredients. Every Tuesday they use their break to whip up four different kinds of delectable mixes (which they came up with themselves) and sell them for a reasonable $1.50 during nutrition. The skills they’re learning go far beyond healthy eating – from managing a budget to tracking sales, from marketing and advertising to quality control, the twelve students involved are gaining valuable life lessons that will no-doubt benefit them in the future.


From there it was a short walk down a snow-scaped avenue to meet Amelie and Mark of www.StayNomad.com (launching soon). Actually, Amelie was in person but Mark was dialed in from Germany through skype. This was my first “e-interview” and it went surprisingly well. No sounds delays, no frozen screens and no irritating “illegal operations” that are oh-so-common while video-chatting across oceans! www.StayNomad.com was an idea that came to Amelie and Mark while they were on a 5-month biking trip across Europe. They realized that to fully appreciate a different culture, it was crucial to meet people who were locals – talk with them, stay with them, cook with them. If we as a society were going to truly “get” other cultures, we had to be invested in not just the country, but individuals who represented that country. With an anticipated site launch date of early April, Amelie and Mark will be offering committed travels the opportunity to set up profiles and connect with people all over the world. Through friend’s referrals, online chats and opportunities to set up meetings, users will be able to plan their next big adventure not from travel books, but from actual residents, breaking down cultural barriers while building a global network of “nomads.” Pretty cool stuff.

After we said farewell to Mark in Germany, Amelie offered to whip up a delicious Lebanese lunch, which meant hummus. I love hummus more than life itself, so I was extremely content. Part 2 of my sojourn to Montreal is coming soon…

NEW YORK TIMES COVERAGE!

Exciting news! The New York Times quoted me talking about my generation as the opening statement to their Sunday article "The Age of Giving." The full text:

‘‘Our generation is replacing signs and protests with individual actions,’’ says Kyle Taylor, 23, an advocate for the social-entrepreneur movement who started his own mentoring organization. ‘‘This is our civil rights movement and what will define our generation.’’

The online version of the article is presented as a slideshow of changemakers and can be viewed by clicking here or here:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/03/09/magazine/0309-FACES_index.html

The print version is completely different, if you have a chance to pick it up! Page 33 of the New York Times Magazine.

I'm still in DC after weather led to a cancelled flight to Montreal. Heading there tomorrow. DC - NYC - Ottawa - Montreal. The travel gods hate me!

----

-Kyle

Big Change In HOT-lanta

Our cross-country trek was definitely starting to wear us down as we approached Atlanta. We were about to pass the 5,000-mile mark, which meant we had spent 100 hours (4 WHOLE DAYS, 8 Daylight days) on the road. Our booties ached, our ears burned from listening to the same 500 songs on repeat and our inability to find fresh fruit was making us edgy (potassium is important!). Needless to say, spirits were not high and this sign seemed to speak volumes: “NO.” No to what we didn’t know, but it still spoke to us.


That is, until we met Jordan of Children’s Bilingual Theater. Thankfully, she had an event planned for the day we were in town, and what an event it was. At 10 years old Jordan saw a serious need in her community for bilingual fluency support. The daughter of a Spanish-speaking mother and English-speaking father, Jordan was raised in a bilingual home. When her family moved to Marietta, Georgia – a community with a large immigrant population – Jordan noticed just how divided the two populations were, and she wanted to bridge that gap.


Since she began four years ago, Jordan has produced four bilingual plays that have involved hundreds of young people. In addition to these larger productions, she hosts several smaller events in schools and pre-schools that focus on bilingual literacy – events like Dr. Seuss day (launched to celebrate the birth of Dr. Seuss). She was in full-costume, sitting a-top a giant “Cat in the Hat” hat reading “Oh The Things You Can Think” to several classes of three to seven year-olds. The kids loved her, and it was evident she cared a great deal about them also. What’s next? Growing the organization throughout the Atlanta region!



We left Children’s Bilingual Theater to spend the evening with Laura, founder of Wild and Water. Wild and Water aims to water-safe economically disadvantaged youth in the Atlanta area by partnering with club swim teams, swimsuit and goggle makers and community organizations that all donate their time, facilities and goods to the cause.


In just over one year Laura has been able to water-safe more than 200 economically disadvantaged youth and collected $34,000 in in-kind donations! We joined in on a swim cap decorating party, which brought me right back to my 13 years as a competitive swimmer, though I did look a little bit ridiculous wearing my cap with my “street clothes…”


All-in-all, a really great day. There has been a slight schedule change so I’ll be returning to DC with Malena tonight before heading on to Montreal Sunday. Taking a few days break to catch up on life, but be back soon for the second half of this great adventure!


P.S. Happy 25th Birthday To Malena! YEAH!!!

NEW VIDEO & PICS - North Country Recap

Here it is, the moving pictures from our time in North Country. Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, and some incredible Venture teams in Minnesota. Enjoy!

Road Trip America - North Country Recap

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The link, in case it doesn't embed: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=29395738


Here are the pictures from Minnesota as well:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyletaylor/sets/72157604022534951/

Hey Judy, Don’t Make Us Sad…

We’re mid-Missouri at the moment and Malena and I have been keeping a big secret these past few weeks – there is a third “person” on this adventure with us. Her name is Judith Jesibelle Jenkins (she prefers Judy) and her little voice has been guiding us [almost] every step of the way. While she may appear to be simply a navigation system the reality is that she is so much more, and constantly reminds us of her humanlike abilities.

She has day and night mode, which is just like split personalities. She’s emotional (“Can’t find origin. Fatal error”), she’s demanding (“In 2 Miles Keep To The Left. Turn Left In 100 Feet. Turn Left NOW”) and more times than I can count she has refused to guide us, no matter how much coddling, praise and gifts we bestow upon her. In fact, we bought Judith her very own holiday sled Christmas tree ornament that is even engraved with her name.


Still, on numerous occasions she has done us wrong and while we love her death, a certain resentment is beginning to build up. For example, when you’re sitting at a gas station in the middle of Wyoming and there is no one for 200 miles in an direction with the exception of the gas station attendant and the older gentleman with Oklahoma license plates, the last thing you want is to have NO IDEA where you are or where you need to go. All this technology is supposed to make life easier but – truth be told – I can’t remember the last time a map book had a “fatal error.”

Judy has been complaining about low memory but she’s only 3 weeks old. I asked her to take me to the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and she did – only it moved to a new location more than two years ago. Not only is her memory low, it’s pulling from antiquated information.

Needless to say, things in the car can be tense after a solid 8 or 9 hours of driving. Whether we like it or not, Judith Jesibelle Jenkins is all we’ve got to get us across America, so lets hope this is just a down cycle, and that things improve…in the meantime, we’ll keep apologizing for all those big square states and their lack of “waypoint initiators,” whatever those are…