After reading a number of end of year reviews, end of decade reflections, top ten lists, about how the technology revolution has forever changed being in the world, the best and the worst, and all the great lives that have passed, I am left with one feeling.
Astonishment.
What a decade in the scheme of the four I can look back upon. I have to say this was the most challenging and I’m not sure if it is indeed because of all the cataclysmic events that have occurred (not to mention raising children) and the adult maturity to reflect on their impact, or the simple fact that it was filled with really difficult moments on a humanitarian scale.
I was a teen in the 80s and looking back it was not all that bad. My mother might feel entirely different with all the things she was paying attention to in her world.
But I’m an optimist at heart – and my tendency is always to
look toward the future for hope.
The fact of the matter is we received an NIH grant to build an online
teen health destination (a lot of work, good timing -- and luck of course.). I say to people “This was a gift.” And
most say: “No, you worked hard for it.” Both are true.
We plan to launch BodiMojo in 2010. One thing the project has done for me personally is to be connected with today’s teens and up to date on how they experience and see their unique challenges. (See our BodiMojo year in review on the compilation of teen health surveys and initiatives). My twelve year old is a year shy for being allowed on the site (kids must be 13) but peeks over my shoulder as I work on it, plays some of the games to help us find glitches, and recently had me set up positive affirmations to go to her cell phone (“Daily Mojos”).
“This IS cool, Mom!” Who could ask for more?
But I do. My personal motto is “Live with intention.” I believe in setting intention and then follow a chosen path, no matter how big or small. Can we help this generation make better choices, live healthy lifestyles, make commonsense decisions, be kind to others?
So I take a measure of hope from a recent survey, Good Intentions: The Beliefs and Values of Teens and Tweens. Leave it to the Girls Scouts to boost the spirits with their nationwide survey among scouters and non-scouters. This 10-year follow up finds that today’s kids have level heads and are making a shift toward more civic engagement and hold more responsible beliefs and values. Teens are more likely to vote when old enough, give to charity, and volunteer in their own community.
Cheers to that!
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