Convention!!!!

This past weekend I was able to attend Convention up at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Buffalo. When I got there on Saturday, I was running right on time and hadn’t stop to think what I was really going to do. I had lunch with over 700 youth who were in attendance that weekend. I can remember going to Convention when I was in high school and it was truly such a great experience. I was so happy to be back in some small way. After lunch and getting a little lost, I sat down at round table discussion with the Junior Advisors. It was fun to share my own unique perspective on faith and also hear from others. Here is some of my thoughts from the event:

“When I was ask to talk about my faith journey one of the first things that came to mind was the footstep story. The one that a man was walking with Jesus along the sand, the steps represented the man’s life. He asked Jesus why he had left him in the times of only one set of foot prints; Jesus responds that during those times he was carrying the man. This is something I think is very true when looking at my faith journey.

To talk about my faith journey since I started college I would really have to start farther back. If you would have met me when I was sixteen you would have met a completely different girl. By that point in my life I had attempted suicide at least three times, I was withdrawn and angry. But on the surface you wouldn’t have known that because I showed no emotion. If you would have asked me about god, I would have said I was his own personal joke or that he had forgotten all about me. This steamed for the violent murders of both my mother and brother within three years of each other before I was ten years old. But I was very lucky when I was sixteen because I had a friend who invited me to youth group. I was not all about it, however I went and I can say that those were the first steps to saving my life.

I bring up footsteps because looking back, I can see that even when I gave up on god he never gave up on me. Even during those dark years in my life, god came to me in small ways but I wasn’t willing to see it then. I only mention this because I hope you look for how god speaks to you and helps to find your purpose. Truly that is where my fate journey has gone since starting college. Looking deeply and finding what my purpose is in this world”

I then went back on Sunday morning…8:30 AM!!!!! To lead 200 of the youth in a debriefing session about the weekend and hear what they loved most about the weekend. It was great to hear what the weekend had been like for them and also what else they were planning on doing once they went back home. The theme this year was, Whatever it Takes. I loved that idea of this theme!!! Not only about faith but life in general. So often youth are not look at as a resource, it so important to encourage them and to support them. Let them find their path in life, when they do you won’t be able to stop them.

My best advice to give? Always stay present in the moment, cherish everything you are experiences and learn and grow from it all.

Busy Vicky

Trip to Albany

Hey everyone last week I was able to spend time in Albany in support of the youth bureau system. This is an annual trip that youth bureau across the state bring youth from their area on. It’s a two day event where kids get to take part in workshops and also meet with the elected representatives. However this year the trip was more important than ever. Days before the event took place the Governor’s budget was released and it was not good for youth bureaus at all. In the budget he eliminates youth bureaus and makes funding for youth programming a competitive grant.

A youth bureau is an agency created by Counties and Cities, or a Town or Village with a total population of 20,000 or more, for the purpose of planning, coordinating and supplementing the activities of public, private, and religious agencies devoted to the welfare and protection of youth. The youth bureau system embodies the definition of youth development as an ongoing process in which children and adolescents seek ways to meet their personal and social needs, building skills and competencies that allow them to be successful and function effectively in their daily lives. Youth development recognizes the potential which young people possess and builds upon their strengths.

Youth bureaus help promote the physical, emotional and social well being of youth and families in New York State. Each youth bureau currently receives funding from the state based on a population formula. They can then use the funding to help fund programs that help meet the needs of their local youth population. This allows youth from across the state opportunities to take part in programs including summer recreation.

In other news…..

Beyond this I have been keeping very busy with school lately, I have my first paper due next Monday and at the end of this month I will be taking my midterms! I also leave next weekend for the Miss Finger Lakes Pageant and I am looking forward to it so much. I also made a very snowy trip to with Amy V to see Miss Fulton County and I am so excited to congratulate my pageant sister, Kieren Sheridan on becoming Miss Fulton County!!!! Also first runner up Danielle Trumbull, my other very good friend second runner up Amanda Boyer who was also overall talent and interview awards winner!!!!

This upcoming weekend I will be speaking on a panel at the 59^th annual Diocesan of Buffalo Youth Conference. Check out a Youtube video of the event. It is something I took part in as a youth and I am so happy I have been ask back to speak about my faith journey. I am still trying to figure out my words of what I will say. Hopefully it will be finished soon and I will share it with you all.

Miss Finger Lakes is on the way

This past weekend I took some time out to go to the Miss Finger Lakes workshop. I am so happy that I got to spend time with everyone. I got to have a mock interview, even if I was a little nervous. We also learned the walking patterns and the opening number J all and all a great day. I was also able to share some of the amazing tips I learned from Robert Jones, I love sharing the knowledge I have gained.

Starting school has been really stressful but I know I will get through it. I am not use to the level of work and it’s hard to find balance. This weekend I am off to see Miss Fulton County, I am so excited and can’t wait to see more of my pageant friends again. I will also be attending my first meeting for Fabulous Females , it’s an annual fundraising event the YWCA that honors amazing women in our community. I am very excited about being apart in the planning of this event. I am also glad to again be serving on the Voice of Experience event which will take place in March. Other upcoming events include speaking at the Diocese of Buffalo’s annual youth conference which I still need to find the words for and a trip to Albany next week for the Association of New York State Youth Bureaus leadership forum.

I love everything I get to do but a lot of times is seems like while a lot!!!! It’s times like this I have to remember to enjoy the journey and how lucky I truly am.

MLK Day

Hey everyone life has been crazy and fun lately. This past Monday was Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service. To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of MLK day Batavia had two different events. The first was a reading of the “I had a dream speech”, this is one of my all time favorite speeches of all time and great to hear read live. Making it even cooler, a AmeriCorps member did the reading!!! I stop by the event to see him do the speech and enjoy the event.

However I had to jet from there to my own event. I have been helping to plan a service project for this day since October. The event had a number of different areas to it, there was no sewing fleece blanket making project for Agri-Business Child Development Center. We also had card making for members of the military. In total we had over 70 volunteers, made 30 blankets from fleece donated by Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee and made over 100 cards that will be sent to member of the military overseas for Valentine’s Day.

Today is also a very special anniversary, today marks the 50^th anniversary of the JFK inauguration address. This is one of my all time favorite speeches and I thought I should included some well known quotes from the speech today:

"...the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."

"Let the word go forth.....that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."

"The world is very very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life."

"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."

"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"

"All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."

"...let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

Forgive me

I have been a horrible blog keeper as of late. So much has been going on!!!!!!!! Christmas was amazing and I had such a wonderful time. I got to spend time with the best kids ever, my cousins’ Jen and Marie’s kids. It was great talking about Santa and being a human horse!!!

Holidays are always fun but a bit crazy also. I literally was so tired on Christmas Eve I didn’t wake up till 9 AM Christmas Day…that is late for me. I also got to spend New Year’s with awesome people!! AJ’s friend’s Adam and Lexie got the Dance Central game for the Xbox. I am officially addicted to that game!!! I can’t wait to get it for myself so I can play all the time.

AJ and I also celebrated our six month anniversary; it’s so hard to believe it has been that long already. For it we went to see Country Strong, it didn’t get good ratings but I really liked it a lot. I highly recommended it and also the soundtrack it amazing.

This Saturday I will be crossing my fingers and sitting on the edge of my seat watching the Miss American Pageant. I am so proud and excited for Clair and just want her to do so while. She truly desires to be on the stage and compete. No matter what I know she will represent New York with pride.

Monday I will be helping out making fleece blankets for the Agro-Business Child Care Center. It is a project for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. I will take place from 1-3 at the senior center in Batavia. I am excited for the project because I have been working on planning it since I starting my AmeriCorps placement in October. In other AmeriCorps news, I am now certified in first aid and CPR again. So if you need help call 911 lol.

Next month I am also honored to say that I have been ask to speak on a panel for the Diocese of Buffalo’s Youth Conference about my faith journey. My journey in general is something I have been thinking a lot about as of late. I think it is so important to remember the roads you had to travel. I have been feeling like I have accomplished much as of late, but looking at where I stated I see how much I have been able to do.

I think that it’s great we have kids thinking about college at a younger age, however I think it can also bring up problems. When I was little I knew I wanted to go to college but I didn’t understand totally about the cost, however I was too dumb to doubt in a good way. I never question being able about to afford college, I just knew I had to go.

I think truly if I would have stopped and thought about it, I would have felt it was an impossible task to do. But I didn’t I just kept on going along and never questioned it. I am grateful no one ever stopped me and I am also very lucky that when I had to start thinking about the money someone told me about financial aid. I am also grateful that that she never tried to say that college was going to hurt me or put me in debt. She helped me find a way.

I have not had a perfect journey in life, but no one really does. In the end I try to learn and grow, looking back all my hard times have helped me be stronger and more able to help others. I couldn’t imagine working and helping people if I didn’t have the life experiences I have had. Life is always easy but it is always worth the clime. My journey had just begun.