Over the past week, over 5 MILLION people took a trip to youtube to watch the now viral “What’s goin on” video by Jonah Mowry.
If you haven’t seen the video, check it out here:
In response to this video (and to the issue of bullying at large), I shot my own response and placed it on youtube as well. While this video is largely to Jonah and the bravery he showed, it is more importantly directed to someone else….
To you.
We all have friends like Jonah. At one time or another, we have felt just like Jonah.
My challenge to you in this short post? Simple—choose to love.
Sadly, the above statement is 100% accurate (and has caused me to have quite the busy fall).
I have been in-and-out of doctors’ offices, ear/nose/throat specialists’ exam rooms, and hospitals for the past year and a half trying to diagnose a recurring health problem that I have been going through.
Before you get worried and have your grandmother send me cookies (which would be greatly appreciated), let me explain…
ATTENTION TEENS OF CYBERSPACE (aka those on my Facebook page) AND ADVISORS OF THE WORLD (again, those on my Facebook page and twitter account…. Don’t judge me.)
I have a confession to make…
I’ve been a little lazy lately.
No. That’s an understatement. Let’s try again. Ahem…
I’ve been slacking off on writing these during the last few months.
Wait, ok. That’s still not cutting it. One last time…
I have been totally failing you in terms of online content.
Much better.
As of late, I’ve been holding down the fort by supplying you with haiku-like status updates, quote-driven status posts, and to top it all off, random statuses to make you giggle (which, by the way, if you’re keeping tabs, are all the same thing). Sadly, I’ve been a lame “supplier of wisdom” who fits everything in 140 characters or less (which isn’t fair to you or anyone else).
Recently, it took an amazing friend and fellow speaker (hi Patrick) to metaphorically beat me over the head with a 2X4 to realize my downfall and get back on track.
And the best part is…I’m loving it (queue McDonalds jingle…..now).
September is well underway which can only mean one thing: that’s right, school is back in session (stop making that sad face).
Oh yes, the time of year where you pull your dusty backpack out of your closet, buy some new clothes to look fresh on your first day, and hope that you have an easier schedule than last year. PLUS, you can’t forget to complain every couple of hours and make sure to reflect on how much better summer was compared to your coming school year. Sound about right?
If you’ve never read this blog before or have just forgot the usual contents after a summer hiatus (which is definitely my fault, so I apologize), you know what’s coming. Ready? Let’s do this.
If you’ve recently been on my website, Facebook fan page, or have just listened to the new CADA leadership podcast (which can be found on iTunes), you know that I’ve had a massive cyber crush on Formspring as of late. Seeing as I’ve been busy on the road this month speaking at schools and conferences, I’ve had a lot of layover breaks at airports to sit down and answer a lot of your questions about leadership, school, and life in general. You’ve taken the time to think of quality questions, so I’ve set some time aside to answer.
One of the cool things about my “job” is not only speaking to teens at schools and conferences, but also hanging out with students afterwards for leadership training and awesome conversation. Usually, we’re able to strike up epic discussions about the important things in life: the new season of Glee, the horrible changes that Facebook has made to their homepage (a recurring topic), and when Eclipse is hitting theatres (fellas, Eclipse is the new TWILIGHT movie–take your lady friend to see it).
A little over a month ago, we all watched in horror as the country of Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake. Like many other people around the world, I remained constantly glued to my television to view the events as they unfolded in the days and weeks following the quake. Each heroic rescue and survival story brought hope and a smile to my face, while tales of lost family members and killed civilians brought those of sadness and despair. As I looked on, I found myself asking the same question that millions of others held in their hearts- “what can I do to help?”
So a few days ago I promised you big news via Twitter/Facebook. I will dispense this jolly news now:
I will be appearing on my FIRST radio interview later this month!! Yes, ‘A Closer Look Radio’ with Pam Atherton has asked me to come on January 28th to talk to her audience about today’s teens (that’s YOU!).
I’m EXTREMELY excited about this opportunity! Not only will I be able to shed light on some of the hot button issues that parents need to know about, but I will also be able to talk in general about the cool teens that I get to speak to!
Unfortunately, the show will air during school hours (booooo). Not to worry though, I will post a link to the interview immediately after it airs!
Finally, I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from teens who need an extra bit of help dealing with their ASB/Leadership groups in the new year. Therefore, I’ve decided to change things up a little bit in the coming weeks. If YOU want a question answered for your leadership group or ASB, drop me a line at Scott@ScottBackovich.com . I will take a few of the questions and personally answer them on either the blog OR even a specialized YouTube video. Sound bueno? I thought it might.
As we start this new year, I want to make it a point to better serve YOU as students. You have one semester left of this school year. Let’s make it count!!!
After devoting a few weeks of blog space to adventures that I thought people should spend some time on, I personally decided to take a day to go on my own expedition. Earlier this week, a few friends and I made our way up to the Sierra Nevada’s for some fun in the snow. I’m still not quite used to the cold that Northern California has to offer (I forgot my Snuggie back home), but I was stoked nonetheless to jump into a fresh layer of powder when we got up there.
Eventually, the day brought us to a large opening on the side of the road near Strawberry, California (insert food joke here). The small recreation area consisted of one HUGE hill that sledders could use to slide down on whatever they had with them. In the middle of the slope stood one large jump that daredevils could go off of if they were feeling risky. Luckily, we came prepared for the day with a few sleds and toboggans. Oh yes, it was game time.
Cold weather, overcrowded malls, and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” have been recurring themes during my past few days. Her ridiculous range mixed with constant sugar-highs from candy canes can only mean one thing: yes, it’s officially Christmas time.
As an early holiday stocking-stuffer, I sent you a virtual treasure map last week known as GEOCACHING. While a bunch of you went out and made u-turns that even your Garmin couldn’t recognize in the hunt for buried treasure, others stayed in and watched re-runs of GLEE in denial of the end of the season (I promise that it will be back soon).
So after some hefty thinking and a recommendation from Meganka Martinez (yes, her parents added ‘ka’ to the end of her name…weird), I have yet another adventure for you to go on.
Sometime in the next week I want you to check out LETTERBOXING!
