Hours: 75 of the most valuable hours of my life.

I can honestly say that the Youth Citizenship Seminar of 2009 at Pepperdine University was the best week of my life.  I was able to meet a bunch of amazing, motivated, intellectual people who all wanted to do something with their life.  It was truly astounding being in an atmosphere where everyone wanted to hear what the others had to say and where everyone had the upmost respect. YCS 2009 took place from Monday June 22 to Friday June 27.  Within these 5 short days, I have learned so much about others and myself.

This event was hosted by Pepperdine’s Chancellor Emeritus, Charles Runnels.  Even though there were evident signs of old age taking its toll on Runnels, he made it his interests to attend all the events that happened in the span of a week.  He has personally raised $300,000 dollars every year for the past 32 years in order to hold this event for young leaders every year.  That’s right; he pays for the entire week so all the students have the opportunity to attend.

Being around such positive and high spirited people this whole week has really changed my outlook on society.  I used to think that everyone in the world was in one way or the other was corrupt and greedy.  After seeing the generosity of the Chancellor, the counselors and even the fellow students I now have a more positive outlook on life.  Everyone was so understanding and supportive of each other.  One example of this is the Talent Show that we put on.  There were many students that performed and even if they messed up, the entire audience would give a comforting standing ovation for each performer.  It was really a wonderful sight.

I also learned a lot about myself that week.  After seeing some of the hardships the speakers had to overcome, I feel humbled by the life that I have.  A large number of the speakers came from small towns where they did not have the multitude of opportunities that I currently have.  Yet these speakers ended up making a life for them become successful, running fortune 500 companies and even winning the Heavyweight Champion of the World 2 times.  Some had to face terrible adversities but came out such positive people.  Brian Bushway was a man whole lost his vision at the age of 14 and changed his life by learning human sonar and teaching it to younger kids.  Charlie Plumb was a Vietnam Veteran who survived 6 years in a Viet Cong prison and is as positive as ever.

I also developed vital leadership skills that week in an accepting atmosphere.  I learned that sometimes you just have to listen to what people say even if you do not agree with them.  This was evident that week, because most of the speakers were conservative Republicans and even though I did not agree with some of their political views, I took to heart the lessons that they taught.

The greatest part about the whole week was the new friends I got to make.  I was amazed at how quickly everyone was accepting of each other.  By the first day, I felt that I had known the people in my “Rap Group” since childhood.  The counselors that were in charge of our groups were also amazing.  They were all former participants of the YCS program and they just created a loving atmosphere.  The overall mood of the whole camp was also pretty relaxed.  The adults treated us like we were adults giving us a lot of liberties that other camps would not.

Thus, this past week was the best week of my life just ‘cause of everything I was able to give and get out of it.