Loved Working with @blprogram for #NDOW #WhyIWrite in Stamford, CT This Week

Beyond Limits
[Bee - yawned Limb-itz]

A place to get life and school support,
over & outside the chains that inhibit us.

As in, 15 young people eating pizza
& attending a writing workshop
on a Thursday night.

As in: Brothers with fros and
frizzy hair focused on their
self-esteem and integrity.

As In: A community of learners
scribbling dreams on
sheets of white paper
together.

(Thanks, Kwame, for the inspiration)

Actually, we were inspired by Jacqueline Woodson, Nic Stone, Rose Brock, and Jason Reynolds, too.
We stole like artists and had a conversation about why writing is not just important for school, but for life.

I was invited to present at Beyond Limits in Stamford after they reached out to me this summer to learn more about CWP and our youth programming. I visited their site, too, and quickly fell in love with their mission of helping young people in Stamford to achieve their dreams through coaching, tutoring, workshops, and tremendous mentoring. The love for their students is everywhere: in the photos on the wall, in the staff that they hire, and in the pride everyone has for the organization.

While there, I met a young woman who happens to be in high school with two of CWP's wonderful teachers and, within seconds, I could see their influence on her spirit (and the National Writing Project's mission) in how she viewed herself as a writer. I love when this happens (so I snapped a photo to send their way).

Okay, Saturday. Today you are officially the National Day on Writing and I look forward to the pre-recorded radio show that will come out sometime this morning. But I'm also thankful that it is not the National Day on Grading, because that is inevitable (I will be eyes down on my keyboard for the next 48 hours as I catch up from Story Fest  - last night I kept dozing off as I tried...and was able to accomplish...the grading agenda that I had). It's the pace that keeps me sustained over long hauls, especially when I've ignored my own students' writing for the last two weeks.

Happy Writing today! I hope you find a place to doodle words across something somewhere. They're important.