This weekend was an unbelievable experience for me. I learned just as much if not more from the boys, as they learned from me. The boys were so inspirational! When initially volunteering this weekend I wasn't sure what to expect. If fact I was nervous. However, it was extremely enlightening to see the way that everyone came together and supported one another.

On Saturday evening we had a group discussion about what was stopping one another from becoming ourselves and what is keeping us from becoming man. Throughout the discussion I kept asking my self the same two questions Tony asked the boys. I realized that I too needed to answer these questions for myself. The young men were very inspirational in showing me how determined they are into changing their life even amongst the true chaos that they live in. If the boys are able to make decisions and changes in their life for the better, what is stopping me and the rest of world from doing the same?

Truth of the matter is many times we are just scared and fall into a trap of worrying what other people think of us. This prevents us from moving forward in society. The boys showed me there is nothing to be scared of. Many of the young men had never snowboarded before or only snowboarded a hand full of times. They showed true courage in attacking the mountain and they weren't afraid to make mistakes. In fact by the third run down the slopes they were attempting jumps and sliding on boxes. I thought this was a metaphor for ones life. We should NOT be scared to attack the mountain of life and we shouldn't be afraid to leave the ground and jump out of our comfort level. Maybe we all need to take a trip with the boys from South Central Los Angeles and find the deeper meaning in life. Why should we be afraid to help change one life, one community, one world?

Thank you so much for a great weekend!!!!

GJ