The content of your character (remember?)

What is yours (content of your character); in three words or less?!

We heard it referred to as Obama's presidential election speech was reviewed; MLK's words rang out. The reference was to the color of a person's skin; but I feel it is deeper than that.

WE are all now called to dig into our own character and enhance relationships in our homes, work, schools, communities.

Dictionary.com defines character as
1.the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
2.one such feature or trait; characteristic.
3.moral or ethical quality: a man of fine, honorable character.
4.qualities of honesty, courage or the like; integrity
5.reputation
and on...with 22 total examples.

The time has come to take inventory, because the world is watching/listening and needs you/me. We are now to fall back on our Character which according to Calvin Coolidge "is the only secure foundation of the state."

Here's a good time to be not only your own best "cheer" leader, but for those around you; for it is in the giving that we receive....and that promotes good character!

Is it in YOU?!

A year after our youngest daughter graduated, we attended a friend's ceremony. The speech given by the person voted in by the class was entitled;

Is It In YOU?

He was able to pull from his class, the most unlikely heroes. And the most likely. Which made the "Unlikely" even more proud to be included. Very YEAH YEAH Out Loud of him.

He told how each of the likely/unlikely person(s) had contributed to his high school experience, the difference they made in his and their classmate's lives, and what could become of it.

Now, 4 years later, I would be interested to know how that came out. Many will have gone down different paths (maybe even because of this "speech", something they never expected). And that night, I was sure to pull the "speaker" aside and give him a YYOL! I told him what a difference he had made in not only his life for acknowledging these individuals, but that he may have changed the course of those whom he included. He somehow doubted this.

Now that I have written this, I will send the link to someone who graduated with him. And ask, how it's going, and in his short years, if he's heard from any of the "recipients".

My message is to make sure EVERY day, you ask not only of yourself, "is it IN YOU?" but to convey to the most unsuspecting, that it IS IN THEM!

And that's a "YEAH YEAH"; being your own best 'cheer' leader and paying it forward, Out Loud!

YYOL® text message acronym for positive self esteem

GTG, BRB, LOL; well here's a new text messaging acronym; AND it stands for empowering kids to discover their inner cheerleader! YEAH YEAH Out Loud©!

(if you want to know some more visit http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm)

It's the vision of YYOL® to be a key, recognizable symbol for positive self-esteem.

To help them reach their full potential by demonstrating that collectively and individually they are capable of doing more than they thought possible, leading to lifelong successes.

Develop fun and inspiring solid foundation programs that foster positive self esteem while fulfilling national and state educational requirements.

Provide and support a web site that communicates clear and effective strategies and techniques to achieve sharing of positive self esteem methods and applications.

This is all achieved through the story of Hur-Ray© and Kiddazy® who's faces are made up of the letters Y Y O L.

Visit http://www.yeahyeahoutloud.com/ and see how your community can become YYOL and find a new awareness of POSITIVE acronyms!

Nationality Face

When our oldest (Adele-26) was little, she taught me a lesson I'd keep forever!
Off she went to Kindergarten (after some pre-school experience) and happily returned home with the words "I have a new friend".
Their name would not give an indication of gender, and she would then say, "and they have a nationality face!"; which to her meant, this person (I still didn't know if they were boy or girl), looked "different" than her.
Her description came from her question the year before; "why does so-and-so look different than me?"; to which I would answer: their family is from a different part of the world. We would go to the atlas or globe and find that spot-in relation to where we lived at the time. I would also explain our ancestry and show her those countries. Now the answer would be, they are a different NATIONALITY.

So now, when I created YYOL, the characters of Hur-Ray© and Kiddazy® have no "nationality" or gender and are designed to be universal yet have their own "identity" as "cheer" leaders.

Adele is now living in northern California, and is a social worker. Guess I should have known that from her youthful "people loving" phrase, "nationality face"!

With all I've done in the past 49+ years; I still say: "Being a mom, is the BEST job I ever had!"