What is it that fuels a group of volunteers to donate their time and efforts in light of bringing about a better tomorrow? What power can drag college students out of bed at 7 in the morning in order to help youth? Where does the Movement of Youth draw its limitless energy from? In this post I will try and answer these questions to the best of my abilities. But I’ll tell you it has something to do with a little word I like to call, Passion.
The Fifth Annual Hip-Hop Symposium hosted by the Movement of Youth truly opened my eyes to a new source of power, the one that lies dormant in our hearts. Movement of Youth is an organization that stands for the positive upbringing of today’s minority youth. I met some of the most intricate people of our generation and they all seemed to have one thing in common, passion. In one month I realized what the true passion is and what amazing power it holds. I could sit here and compare passion to a million types of substances in this world but alas I will go with the most known interpretation, passion as fire. We all know how a fire starts; it requires material, oxygen, and a spark. Passion is no different, inside our hearts starts as a small spark, the mind provides us with airy thoughts (oxygen) and when the mind and heart combine they form a flame that ignites the soul (material). The Symposium called upon three individuals to recount and share their stories about following their dreams. Listening to the personal experiences these young men and women have already been through led me to believe that this passionate fire has energy, or the capacity to do work. When Kane the poet performed a spoken word piece, I felt the emotion in his voice as he expressed love for the giver of his X chromosome, his mother. After his piece he gave the audience an opportunity to ignite their own fire, one boy bravely volunteered and as soon as he began I knew instantly he had this same flame in his soul. As he spoke from his heart, his words seemed to give off a sort of emotional heat. This heat is none other than the flames of passion. Our host Pierce Freelon, burned brightly with an aura of passion the whole event. He was the voice these youth needed to hear. His energy never wavered and his lighthearted soul was reflected in the eyes of all participants. When talking about his music, he seemed to glow with passion. Even Brian Dawson, radio DJ took notice of this and offered to help him and his band, The Beast. Lastly King Mez, a Raleigh native, was the poster child for passion in a positive aspect. Hearing his personal experience with music I could see how greatly he adored, admired and respected the gift God gave him. Listening to a selection of songs, you could tell automatically that if he continues to follow his passion, he will go far. The man who had the most influence on the crowd however was a parent, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson, from Philly encouraged the students to write down whatever was on their minds and hearts because they never know when it will come in handy. He recited a jingle he created for a grocery store and he also participated in the cipher. His words (although I don't remember them fully), sounded something like "change will come and you will grow". Mr. Wilson exemplified a man who had a compassionate heart, especially when it came to youth. So all in all, these few individuals have forever changed the lives of the audience, who were mainly youth by expressing how following your heart will lead you in the right direction. These youth will eventually use their light to help guide them down the path that God has destined for them.
"Think of each of the passionate hearts as stars shining brightly, illuminating even the darkest of times. "
So what exactly fuels the Movement of Youth, well I’ve come to the conclusion that it's passion. Think for a sec’ a movement requires two things, energy and an object. Passion and energy are one in the same they both have the power to do work. The object, is the future generation, the youth. So a movement could be defined as a passionate force able to change the future. Yeah that's what the Movement of Youth is all about, helping youth find their passion. . A passionate force that stems from the hearts of youth, the driving force of the future.
Cheers,
Johnny Lee Chapman, III
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