Musings on Life and Living

I have had the privilege this week of volunteering with the 44th annual Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute. As most who read my blog know, this is a summer leadership conference for middle and high school students throughout Illinois. (We also have participants who come from out of state.) This was my 17th Teen Institute. This year I was a part of the Headquarters Staff. You can read more about my experiences in this role here . The speakers we had for our opening session are good friends of mine, Matt Matkovich and Phil Januszewski, both educators in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, who offer inspirational and motivational messages as M&P Presentations . I first met them five years at the Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute and, through the power of social media, have been able to keep connected. Their keynote this year was about their recipe for a happy and healthy life. During their presentation, they suggested that everyone to consider what their own personal recipes. I...

For something that has been such an integral part of my life for the past nineteen years, I have blogged a surprisingly low number of times about my experiences with Teen Institutes. I honestly have no idea why this is. My first Teen Institute was in Illinois in 1999. I attended as a youth participant. I don't remember much of what I learned that year, although I do recall listening to Mike Bruni give a keynote address outside because the building we were using at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, lost power. I recall working with a group of teens from my community to come up with a plan of promoting a youth recreation program in the summer that never took off. And I remember having to be taken to the hospital to be treated for poison ivy exposure. (The staff member who took me was a giant of a man who advocated for me at the hospital when the nurse told me that there was no shot that could be given to me when he and I both knew there was.) I am sure I have other memories ...