“What kind of person do you want to be?”  Asking an adult this question might result in answers like, “honest”, “happy”, “compassionate”, but asking 12 year old girls at Christie Lake Kids, an organization that seeks to empower children living in poverty, the answers we received were a bit different.

“A hard-working eye doctor”,  “a model”, “an actor”.  Hmm. . . . not the answers we were looking for! “OK. . . . what kind of person do you need to BE to be an actor?”  A moment of silence, then a question: “confident?”  Yes! That’s where we want to go with this – bringing the focus to the inner qualities of character building.  Being flexible, appropriating our language and meeting these girls where they’re at is integral to our work here.  This discussion on “What kind of person do you want to be?” is informing the Yoga Play we’re going to do next week, where the girls create and perform a short skit with a positive message.

-Amanda Jahnke-