The Process... To be continued!

Yesterday, I received an email that denied my application to a doctoral program. The words of the emailed seared through my eyes. The author stated (with more or less words), "Thank you for your application to... We were really impressed with your credentials. Unfortunately, there were more qualified applicants this enrollment period..." And then the words became very blurry and my heart sank to my stomach. Automatically I thought, what am I going to do? I didn't get in. What am I going to do? I have to change my career. What am I going to do? Is there something I did wrong? What am I going to do? What were my weaknesses? What am I going to do? Well at least they were very impressed.... BUT WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? 

I received this email while at a Safe Space training that focused on being an ally for the LGBTQA community. In one of our breakout sessions, we talked about how everyone has their own journey and everyone processes things differently than others. We talked about how individuals process and manage multiple identities. We discussed how one grows into who they are. We broke down intersectional identities of race, class, gender, sex and external societal pressures. We talked about how one deals with the mixed messages of the media and combating those messages with positive thinking. But one thing stuck to my mind which is the "process" of growth and development.

Instead of sulking, mourning, and being in a period of sadness because I did not get into the program, I would rather use this moment to think about the process. I should use this moment to process my thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The process to find myself and who I am becoming. This morning I began to unpack my thoughts. I decided that this is a great time to reflect on my own development and journey as a student affairs professional. It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting (The Alchemist). When I think about the process and where I am in my own journey I settled that it's okay. I'm 26 with four years of experience. I'm right where I should be. All things are working out for my good. I don't have to think about my strengths or weaknesses. I don't have to think about what went wrong. I don't have to think about how I can get better. I don't have to doubt myself or look down upon myself. It's okay! 

I just need to think about the process. I am becoming who I am. This is great time and opportunity to think about my niche and what I'm good at. I have a great opportunity to think about who I am and where I want to go and who I want to become. I would have to say that I have a very positive outlook on the process and the outcome as I follow my Personal Legend. 

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

I still have my motivation. I will become a doctoral student. It's all apart of the process. 

Thanks for reading. Feedback is appreciated. 

In My Own Room...

"Virginia Woolf, in her book, A Room of One's Own, wrote that in order for a woman to write fiction she must have two things, certainly: a room of her own (with key and lock) and enough money to support herself" (Walker, In Search of Our Mother's Garden).

 

I find myself in the same position. In order to find myself and write progressively in my field, I must find my own room that has a lock and key with enough money to support myself. As I continue to move in my career, this quote continues to provide meaningful impact. First, I think it is the figurative notion that I must "find my own room." This is not a literal statement but figurative. Personally, I find this room housed in the walls of education and in particular, higher education. Second, this room must have a lock and key. I must be able to find, enter, close the door and lock myself away until I have perfected my craft. It is more than just work. Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working towards something we love is called passion. I must find, enter, close the door and lock myself away with my passion. If I were examine the historical and traditional stories of Jesus, often times he "stole away to meditate." He knew that he needed to find a figurative and literal place to gather his thoughts, restore his mind, and rejuvenate his passion. At the moment, I find myself stealing away so that I can focus on my craft and perfect my passion. 

 

It is a journey of self-discovery. I often rely on Chickering's Seven Vectors of Student Development to examine myself. "For Chickering, development involves differentiation and integration as students encounter increasing complexity in ideas, values, and other people and struggle to reconcile these new positions with their own ideas, values, and beliefs (Pascerella & Terenzini, 2005)." There are seven vectors or major highways that an individual journeys to discovery and refinement. The seven factors are as follows: 

 

1. Achieving Competence 

2. Managing Emotions 

3. Moving Through Autonomy toward Interdependence 

4. Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships 

5. Establishing Identity 

6. Developing Purpose 

7. Developing Integrity 

 

I personally like vectors 5 and 6. They discuss issues that I constantly deal with. I am always trying to establish a solid identity and develop purpose within that identity. Chickering stated, "A solid sense of self emerged (at this vector), and it becomes more apparent that there is an 'I' who coordinates the facets of personality, who 'owns' the house of self an is comfortable in all of its rooms" (1993). Hence, I must find my own room. In developing purpose, clarifying your identity requires a sense of direction. Some questions that I always ask of myself: (1) Who am I? (2) Who am I going to be? (3) Where am I? and (4) Where am I going to be? Growth requires intentionality. 

 

The space in my own room is a place where I can ask the tough questions to myself. I can develop who I am without the influence of others. Who I am is not based on the perception of what others may think of me. But who I am is based on who I think I should be at this present time. I wrote before in a previous blog, I am in a space where I am authoring my life and professional career. Right now, I need to gain skill sets so that I can use them to get to the next level. I need to figure out who I am and who I want to be as a professional. I need to figure out what I want to do and what skills I need to become what I desire. Lastly, I need to identify opportunities that I think I need and areas where I can grow and find ways to make that happen. 

 

This is what I believe Virginia Woolfe means when she says that authors need a room of their own with a lock and key. 

Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

Finally! I am back in my field. I haven't written a blog post since I got back from Namibia. At this moment in my life, everything is amazing. I am pursuing my passion in higher education by starting a career at a local university. What I love about my field is the ability to grapple with theories and best practices in higher education. I love assessing programs in my thought process and ask questions that will create a condition for the students to succeed. My passion in higher education focuses on student engagement and development, as well as assessing programs based on their educational value. I love asking questions like: what are your learning outcomes? Is it manageable? Is it measurable? It is meaningful? What does it look like? How can improve it? How can we think about said program differently? Student affairs professionals should be reflective on current divisional initiatives and ask: (a) How does a program or policy help a student move towards becoming an internally defined individual, and (b) How will race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and religion play a role in the experiences of the student? Using multiple theoretical perspectives, as it was described earlier, will allow student affairs professionals to think more deeply about the student, as well as the programs, policies

and the events that are implemented. So I did some research and decided to post a blog on the 7 principles for good practices in undergraduate education. These principles have stood the test of time.

By Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson (1987)
Reprinted with permission.

Apathetic students, illiterate graduates, incompetent teaching, impersonal campuses -- so rolls the drumfire of criticism of higher education. More than two years of reports have spelled out the problems. States have been quick to respond by holding out carrots and beating with sticks.

There are neither enough carrots nor enough sticks to improve undergraduate education without the commitment and action of students and faculty members. They are the precious resources on whom the improvement of undergraduate education depends.

But how can students and faculty members improve undergraduate education? Many campuses around the country are asking this question. To provide a focus for their work, we offer seven principles based on research on good teaching and learning in colleges and universities.

Good practice in undergraduate education:

1. encourages contact between students and faculty,
2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
3. encourages active learning,
4. gives prompt feedback,
5. emphasizes time on task,
6. communicates high expectations, and
7. respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

We can do it ourselves - with a little bit of help...

These seven principles are not ten commandments shrunk to a 20th century attention span. They are intended as guidelines for faculty members, students, and administrators -- with support from state agencies and trustees -- to improve teaching and learning. These principles seem like good common sense, and they are -- because many teachers and students have experienced them and because research supports them. They rest on 50 years of research on the way teachers teach and students learn how students work and play with one another, and how students and faculty talk to each other.

While each practice can stand alone on its own, when all are present their effects multiply. Together they employ six powerful forces in education:

• activity,
• expectations,
• cooperation,
• interaction,
• diversity, and
• Responsibility.

Good practices hold as much meaning for professional programs as for the liberal arts. They work for many different kinds of students -- white, black, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, older, younger, male, female, well-prepared, under prepared.

But the ways different institutions implement good practice depend very much on their students and their circumstances. In what follows, we describe several different approaches to good practice that have been used in different kinds of settings in the last few years. In addition, the powerful implications of these principles for the way states fund and govern higher education and for the way institutions are run are discussed briefly at the end.

As faculty members, academic administrators, and student personnel staff, we have spent most of our working lives trying to understand our students, our colleagues, our institutions and ourselves. We have conducted research on higher education with dedicated colleagues in a wide range of schools in this country. With the implications of this research for practice, we hope to help us all do better.

We address the teacher's how, not the subject-matter what, of good practice in undergraduate education. We recognize that content and pedagogy interact in complex ways. We are also aware that there is much healthy ferment within and among the disciplines. What is taught, after all, is at least as important as how it is taught. In contrast to the long history of research in teaching and learning, there is little research on the college curriculum. We cannot, therefore, make responsible recommendations about the content of good undergraduate education. That work is yet to be done. This much we can say: An undergraduate education should prepare students to understand and deal intelligently with modern life. What better place to start but in the classroom and on our campuses? What better time than now?

Seven Principles of Good Practice

1. Encourages Contact Between Students and Faculty

Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students' intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans.

2. Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students

Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort that a solo race. Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding to others' reactions sharpens thinking and deepens understanding.

3. Encourages Active Learning

Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.

4. Gives Prompt Feedback

Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses. When getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.

5. Emphasizes Time on Task

Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one's time well is critical for students and professionals alike. Students need help in learning effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish the basis of high performance for all.

6. Communicates High Expectations

Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone -- for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and make extra efforts.

7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning

There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so easily.

Teachers and students hold the main responsibility for improving undergraduate education. But they need a lot of help. College and university leaders, state and federal officials, and accrediting associations have the power to shape an environment that is favorable to good practice in higher education.

What qualities must this environment have?

• A strong sense of shared purposes.
• Concrete support from administrators and faculty leaders for those purposes.
• Adequate funding appropriate for the purposes.
• Policies and procedures consistent with the purposes.
• Continuing examination of how well the purposes are being achieved.

There is good evidence that such an environment can be created. When this happens, faculty members and administrators think of themselves as educators. Adequate resources are put into creating opportunities for faculty members, administrators, and students to celebrate and reflect on their shared purposes. Faculty members receive support and release time for appropriate professional development activities. Criteria for hiring and promoting faculty members, administrators, and staff support the institution's purposes. Advising is considered important. Departments, programs, and classes are small enough to allow faculty members and students to have a sense of community, to experience the value of their contributions, and to confront the consequences of their failures.

States, the federal government and accrediting associations affect the kind of environment that can develop on campuses in a variety of ways. The most important is through the allocation of financial support. States also influence good practice by encouraging sound planning, setting priorities, mandating standards, and reviewing and approving programs. Regional and professional accrediting associations require self-study and peer review in making judgments about programs and institutions.

These sources of support and influence can encourage environments for good practice in undergraduate education by:

• setting policies that are consistent with good practice in undergraduate education,
• holding high expectations for institutional performance,
• keeping bureaucratic regulations to a minimum that is compatible with public accountability,
• allocating adequate funds for new undergraduate programs and the professional development of faculty members, administrators, and staff,
• encouraging employment of under-represented groups among administrators, faculty members, and student services professionals, and
• providing the support for programs, facilities, and financial aid necessary for good practice in undergraduate education.

Attachment: Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education [PDF, 61 KB]

Finding a Space of Authoring...

Finding a "Space of Authoring" in Student Affairs  

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela 

Over the past few days I have received a lot of confirmation and affirmations that I made the right decision to come home. I have decided to leave Peace Corps for my health, my family, and my career goals. My core values are faith, family, service before self, and excellence in all I do. I truly attest to the fact that I have matured over the course of the past year. So many events have occurred that allowed me to grow and mature into a better human being. I feel full, satisfied, and accomplished. I know that God has a plan for my life and He will provide for me in the near future. He would not have brought me this far without a plan. Although I may not know all that it entails, I trust Him and my faith is in him. For all I trust him! 

"In the midst of our lives, we must find the magic that makes our souls soar!" For me that magic is higher education and student affairs. That magic is my passion for my career. I'm very career oriented and focused on my professional development. My outlook on life is to gain progressive skills in education. Once I have attained the skills and assets that I think are necessary, it's time to move on. Feelings of uncertainty and anxiety about my professional career are unhealthy and will cause me to be ineffective. That being said, it is time to move on. 

I came back to America to continue to pursue my career in higher education as a student affairs professional and focus on my family. That's what I plan to do. It's important to ask, "what needs to be done now?" My passions in life are student engagement and  student development. I think it is important to gain experiences that align with my passion. By gaining various experiences I can craft the type of person I desire to be, both professionally and personally. I strongly believe in developing professional and personal identities to frame a new self-understanding. There is a space of authoring that allows one to write one's self into the world in a particular way. This space of authoring is the ability for people to make sense of themselves through multiple internal dialogues or conversations with the self. Talking to yourself can be healthy. It is important to take some time to unpack what is important to you at any juncture in life. I think it is also important to ask yourself, "what are the next steps to get to where I see myself?" In other words, what are things that I need to do today to get to where I want to be tomorrow. 

People must make choices to accept, reject, or negotiate the social identities that are presented in the world. I can't live life passively answering the questions of the world. I must be active and engage the world head on. I see the ability to frame my identity and to make meaning of myself as a liberatory practice that allows me to be free to become whoever I chose to be. 

Authorship is a matter of orchestration where the individual uses their social resources to craft appropriate responses in the time and space available to them. As a space of "answerability" where authoring the self is a requirement. The questions of the world must be answered, it is not a choice. 

I like who I am becoming. I am more mature, wiser, stronger, and better. I choose to author my life in such a way that allows me to be liberated in mind, body, soul, and spirit. I choose to become a student affairs professional who advocates the consciousness of social justice issues. 

Reflections on Development Work

Zora Neale Hurston stated in her book Dust Tracks on a Road, that "research is a formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein." I am reading Hurston's autobiography and she is describing her times of research of Black life in the south. In this particular chapter, she describes the process of anthropology, ethnography and qualitative research. She states that one needs to find a vocation - a calling - that has a "soul in it." As I think about my  growing career, I should avoid things that have no soul, no purpose, and no life. That simply means that I should commit my life to something that has a purpose and fulfills a deep craving in my soul while meeting the needs of the world. Aristotle once said, "where the needs of the world and your talents cross path, there is your vocation." The word vocation is interesting. Vocation speaks of a divine calling to a particular career or station in life. 

Cornel West stated, "don't tell me about your career, tell me about your vocation - your life's calling." I must live a life that has a soul in it. I must, as Hurston described, "tell the tales, sing the songs, do the dances and repeat the raucous sayings and doings of the Negro farthest down." She stated that "truthfully they are utterly sincere in living," I relate this statement to working, living, and learning among any person living in a developing country. They truly have a sincere way of living. 

I believe I have found my vocation. After a meeting a few weeks ago, I had some thoughts and reflections. I think my biggest take away from the meeting is that we should really pay attention and listen to the people we are serving. I realized that volunteers may have great ideas and experiences to add to the conversation but that means nothing to what we can learn from the people. It is more important to listen and hear what the people want than for one to make policy decisions without the input of others who are impacted by said policy. You cannot make policy without hearing from the people at the grassroots level. More importantly, you cannot move ahead of the people before they are ready; wait for them. In this field of education and development you have to go at the pace of the people. You have to listen to the various stakeholders and consider their opinions first. 

The buzzword in development work is sustainability. It's a buzzword because everyone says it but not everyone knows what it means. If they don't know what it means than they don't know what it should look like. It is a term that must be unpacked. Development should be participatory, inclusive, people centered, capacity building, process focused and sustainable. But what does that mean? What does that look like? I had the privilege to attend this meeting and truly understand those key factors in development work. I was able to see things from their perspective and it confirmed that I am making a difference. 

Everyone had a voice and buy in on the project. I was able to see real people that were impacted by policy. Real people should remain in our focus. We must ensure that the people we serve are building on their own strengths. We must empower the people through the process and focus less on the product. It is hoped that there will be some level of continuity with the work we are doing. But we have to remain humble. As a result, we should continue to listen to our constituents who are at the grassroots level. That is where the real change is happening. That's where the real work is being done. That's where the difference happens. There are thousands of people in the developing world who are ready for change, calling for hope, and eager to work for their country. One person can make a change. That person can touch ten people. Those ten people will reach one hundred. One hundred people will reach ten thousand. It all starts with one voice, one action, and one hope to build others! Let's get out there, roll up our sleeves and make a difference. 

The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed... For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. - Nelson Mandela 

Long Walk To Freedom

If you have been following my blog, you will notice that my blogs are not always directly related to my Peace Corps experience. In fact, my blogs are a result of my own personal reflections and thoughts based on very personal experiences that I have had thus far. I choose not to be confined to discuss the interesting things that happen throughout my day or to vent my frustrations. On the contrary, I try to post things that are stimulating, educational, and beneficial to all readers. This particular post does just that. Over the last three months I have been reading a book that has left an indelible impression upon my life. That book is "Long Walk to Freedom," which is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. 

I traveled to Cape Town, South Africa during my April holiday. It was truly a life changing experience that I had to write about it twice. If you recall, my last post was also about Cape Town. However, I focused on my trip to the Slave Lodge and the psychological experience I had. I thought it necessary to write this blog to express my feelings of my trip to Robben Island, visiting Madiba's cell, and reading his book thereafter. Through the life of Nelson Mandela I have learned the importance of freedom of political rights and education as a means of liberation. 

Going to the prison cell of Nelson Mandela was truly life changing. The biggest take away for me is that Mandela and the other senior leaders wrote letters and political literature to younger inmates who were members of the Black Conscious Movement and other organizations. The letters educated the other inmates on the African National Congress' (ANC) policies and goals to pursue a multicultural, nonracial, one man-one vote South Africa. It was through the passing of notes that those who did have a formal education became educated. As a result, those who entered prison with no education received an education comparable to any doctoral holder at the time. 

In essence, Madiba gave back and paid it forward through education while being a political prisoner. The policies of apartheid held him in prison for 27 years. But what impressed me the most was his insatiable desire to pursue education. He continued to read books and pursue a degree when such privileges were allowed. I believe my life has been impacted by the life of Madiba and his desire to pursue education. 

He stated that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. I am now comitted to educate other in the spirit of Madiba. I realize that "an educated man can never be oppressed because he can think for himself." Mandela had taught me that "It is important for freedom fighters to remain in touch with his own roots," to effectively bring about change for his own people. I am learning that 'a degree is not in itself a guarantee of leadership and that it means nothing unless one went out into the community to prove oneself.' 

As I continue to grow, I realize that it is important to be in the community working with the people you seek to serve. As a Peace Corps volunteer this is a great realization. Sustainable development is participatory, inclusive, people centered, and has a bottom-up approach. It is prudent for development work to focus on empowering people to make decisions for themselves using skills that they already have. Visiting Robben Island and reading his book has changed my life forever. 

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika! 

A conversation with the ancestors...

During my recent trip to Cape Town, South Africa (April 21-27, 2014), I believe I had an experience that was spiritual, cultural, and educational. It was an immersion into culture and education that tapped into the deepest part of my spirit. The experience was like no other. One would have to be there to feel it. It was almost as if there was a portal that transcended space and time. It was almost as if the spirit of the ancestors reached out from the bottom of slave ships and spoke to me. They spoke to the most intimate part of my being. They touched my soul.

I visited the Robben Island Museum, the Museum of South Africa, and the Slave Lodge. The Slave Lodge was so powerful that I had to go back a second time. Something was calling me back to that place - to sit, to learn, and to be taught the history of a people long ago subjected to forced labour due to the color of their skin. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "None of us is truly free while other remain enslaved. The continuing existence of slavery is one of the greatest tragedies facing our global humanity. Today, we finally have the means and increasingly the conviction to end this scourge and to bring millions of slaves to freedom." Let us never forget and realize that modern day slavery exist in Brazil, Haiti, Niger, Mozambique, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Albania.

In the Slave Lodge, there was an exhibit called the Column of Memory. On the rings of the column were the names of slaves who, as property of the Dutch East India Company, were confined in the dark, damp and prison like spaces of the Slave Lodge. On the wall was inscribed, "in light of memory and remembering, through the streams of our senses, reconnecting, recollecting, WE FIND OUR WAY HOME." I was extremely moved beyond words and in tears. I had a moment of silence and said thank you. 

I realize and recognize that they are not my direct ancestors. However, I feel that African Americans stem from a pool of ancestry that is connected to the heart of Africa. In this pool of ancestry, the grandmothers and the grandfathers spoke to me. They spoke to me of their dream. In their dream they saw me. In this dream they gave me a gift. As they died in the sea of slavery, I was born to freedom. I am REBORN in freedom through this experience. I am reborn to self-knowledge... Man know thyself! I am reborn. Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave. I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise! 

An audio voice over played repeatedly a poem called, "Slave Dream." This is what they shared with me:

Slave Dream by Malkia Ndlovu 

If this journey ever ends,

If we ever, 

we will remember these days.

We will not forget these endless days.

Here in the fever of our fears,

The ache of our uncertainties, 

We plead, we plead and pray,

We pray.

All inside us is the light,

In the light of memory and remembering, 

Through the streams of our senses,

Reconnecting, Recollecting,

We find our way home, home.

I am home. I can return.

We return.

Return,

Return.

There is only light inside us,

As we cross this ocean of swallowed bones,

Wash ourselves and each other in tears, rise above the tide of our fears, the tide of our fears. 

We dream, we dream

And in the dream, I see you.

I see you, I feel you. 

Remember me, remember me, dream. 

Remember me, remember, remember.

And in the dream we are free. 

In the dream we are free. 

Walk with me. I know where we can hide, inside the light.

Inside there is light.

Come. Come with me, come.

Come with me.

Come.

Come.

I believe, I see in the dark, I know,

I know from this deep shadowy pool of genes, of ancestry, of spirit, and tongue - a NEW thread in the family is begun.

A new thread in the family has begun, from this pool will come,

Our daughters and our sons,

OUR DAUGHTERS AND OUR SONS.

They will come, they will come.

We are the seed, they are the dream. 

Our dream.

They are our dream.

If, if this journey ever ends,

If ever, if ever we feel the land and still we breath, see the sun,

Still, still the time must come

When we will die and they will be BORN!

Through each other, through each one we will live,

Through each one we will live, our souls retrieved, 

I do believe, will you, will you believe?

Believe me, believe, believe, believe, believe, believe.

We are the human vessel for a spirit that knows no death, 

For a spirit that knows no death. 

Each century continues our breath.

We conquer the seas of sorrow, 

Transcend the boundaries of time. 

Tomorrow, tomorrow our children,yours and mine, will be mirrors.

Tomorrow our children will be mirrors of you and I. 

They will remember you. They will remember you. Remember me. Remember you. Remember me.

Remember, remember, remember, remember, remember.

Where ever this journey ends, theirs begins,

Where ever, theirs begins

We are the seed, they are the dream. 

Our dream. We are the seed. They are our dream. Our dream. Dream. Dream. Dream. Dream. Dream.

Believe. Dream.

- Eugene