This article was written by Brooklyn Earl, a student at Britannia Secondary School. She will be going into grade 9 in the fall.
My name is Brooklyn, and I am a youthLEADarts graduate who has now become a volunteer.
I started with youthLEADarts in grade 7. When I started, I thought it was going to be a leadership program but what I discovered was something even more meaningful.
youthLEADarts didn’t just teach me how to lead, it taught me how to express myself and how to connect with my peers. Through every project I did, I found my voice and I found my community.
The first project I did was called “The Sound of the Beating Drum”, a spoken word and video project where we worked together to write, produce and edit a short video about how we are all connected. The poem is below.
Listen to the drum.
It calls us to join together.
It tells us to listen.
It warns us of the dangers around us.
It is our sacred way of connecting.
Listen to the world.
Heal it.
Don’t take advantage of it.
Protect its sacred animals.
Don’t be greedy with what you take.
Listen to your heart.
It wants you to reach your goals.
Do something you enjoy.
Care for others.
Be who you want to be.
Listen to my voice.
I believe we all need to make changes so that our world can be better.
I think you should never give up.
I believe you should always respect yourself.
I believe you should never feel alone.
Listen to the drum.
Listen to our world.
Listen to your heart.
Listen to my voice.
Listen…listen closely to the sound of the beating drum.
It beats for us all.
The project taught me how to work together and make something cool. So, after I graduated grade 7, I decided to become a volunteer. The first volunteering job I had with youthLEADarts was at the LEAD afterschool program. The program was fun, and it gave me so many memories. One of the memories it gave me was meeting a bunch of new people.
My wish is that everyone could have the chance to try youthLEADarts because who knows maybe it will inspire you to become a volunteer and make memories of your own!