Hello from Rayne!

There is a simple truth that social distancing gives us hours (and hours and hours) alone with our thoughts. Where school, and friends, and after-school activities and weekend plans used to quiet or drown out the chatter in our minds, we are now giving more attention to our thoughts and feelings than ever before. There’s a lot going on, and there’s a lot to think about. As a young person, you have the power to share and educate others outside your home, the people in your community who want to better understand you and what you’re going through. Your thoughts matter — your voice matters!

Bainbridge Youth Services has issued an invitation to write a short statement about what’s going on in your world.

“This I Know” is a project of Bainbridge Youth Services, empowering youth voices in our community through first person narratives. These are published monthly in the Bainbridge Island Review. (They can also appear on CreARTiveKRL.com, the library’s online literary and art magazine.) You are invited to speak your mind, and get published!

Background:

This I Know is statement of your personal beliefs, of the values which rule your thought and action. Your essay should be about three minutes in length when read loud, written in a style as you yourself speak, and total no more than 500 words.

What YOU choose to write is so uniquely you that no one can write it for you. You must write it yourself, in the language most natural to you. When you share your thoughts, they may become of untold meaning to others. Many feel isolated, alone or misunderstood; this is your chance to be heard, understood, and increase feelings of community.

This is your opportunity to share not only what you believe, but how you reached your beliefs, and if they have grown, what made them grow. This necessarily must be highly personal. Your authentic feelings are valued.

Writing your own statement of personal belief can be a powerful tool for self-reflection. Reflecting on what truly matters is important and sharing this with others is very impactful, as what is most personal is also often what is most universal.

Your belief, simply and sincerely spoken, is sure to help those who hear it. Be confident it will enrich them.

To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

Tell a story about you: Be specific. Think of your own experience, friends and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real.

Be brief: Your statement should be about 500 words.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your statement might not be about belief. Focus on one core belief.

Be positive: Write about what you do believe, not what you don’t believe.

Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the first person. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. Read your essay aloud to yourself, and edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that is uniquely and only you.

Thank you for considering sharing your voice and views with our community. An editorial review panel will chose twelve articles to appear in The Bainbridge Review in 2020, one per month. 

Everyone is invited to have their writing (and any illustrations you might wish to include) appear on https://creartivekrl.com, without panel review. The literary and art magazine is open to ALL teens in grades 7-12 in Kitsap County.

Please complete the attached submission form (BELOW) with your This I Know statement. You can email it to me at raynelacko@gmail.com. Thank you!

Sending you well wishes for peace, creativity and happiness,

Rayne Lacko

Teen Writers’ Workshop at Bainbridge Public Library

Author of A SONG FOR THE ROAD, and DREAM UP NOW, the teen journal for creative self-discovery

@raynelacko

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“This I Know”
 Draft Application

Author/Student Name:

Author/Student Email:

Home address:

Guardian/Parent Email Address:

Title of article:

I give permission for my statement of belief to appear in the Bainbridge Island Review under the umbrella title of  “This I Know,” a project of Bainbridge Youth Services, with my name attached.

Author/Student signature:

I have read the article being submitted by the author/student and give my permission for the statement of belief to appear in the Bainbridge Island Review under the title “This I Know,” a project of Bainbridge Youth Services, with the author/student name attached.

Guardian Signature:

Questions:
Do we allow anonymous submissions?
Might this also become a podcast with students reading their work?

First draft of criteria for prioritizing submissions (if needed):
We prioritize submissions that:
1. Celebrate diversity and value inclusion, voices that otherwise might be missed in our community culture.
2. Implicitly teach other adults how to empower young people.
3. Speak to key beliefs that support youth well-being, self-compassion and compassion for others.
4. Demonstrate good writing:
•           Ideas that are interesting and important.
•           Organization that is logical and effective.
•           Voice that is individual and appropriate.
•           Word choice that is specific and memorable.
•           Sentence fluency that is smooth and expressive.
•           Conventions that are correct and communicative.
Students on our communications committee suggested some draft potential prompts:

1. Letter to my younger self… Something that I wish I had known.

2. I wish I had known that….. (example, I am not alone)

2. What I wish my parents understood or knew…..

4. College essays that talk about a relevant topic

5. (For alumni) What have you learned living outside of the Bainbridge bubble?