Take Chances

Some advice I would give youth is that you should do what you love and there is always going to be risk you have to take,but you have to keep at it and go for it.Throughout this program we learned from all the visits we had to do what you love and don't let anyone tell you you can't do it, cause if you let someone keep telling you you can't do anything, it's going to be hard to accomplish anything. Just keep your eye on the prize and when you do get where you wanted to be at, you go back to the person that told you you couldn't do it and say that you did do it. It feels good to know that you surprised other people.

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MY FUN SUMMER PROGRAM

This summer was a lot of fun because I got to meet new people that I never thought I was going to have talk to my team mates but once I got to talk to them I found out that they were a nice person to hang out with. what I have learned from this six week summer program is never give up on a situation because there are other ways to get around that specific situation. The main reason I said this because there was many times on job I found myself give up on garage band because I thought i was perfect with technolgy. Another thing that I learned from this job is to do what you love and not just do your job for the money because if you do so then when you are ready to go to work, you're not going to be excited to get up with a firm mind to do your work. This summer was every exciting and interesting and I got more out of it then what I thought I was going to get.

-- by Sasha Senorine

My Advice

Throughout the summer everyone we have visited gave us advice. This is my advice to any teenagers... My advice is to live life to the fullest and don't let anyone stop you . If someone says you can't do it, prove them wrong and show them you can. It will feel great to see the look on their face when you do prove them wrong and you will probably have more confidence in yourself. Life is short, make every moment last and do not fuss over the little things, it will only stress you out more.

Advice 2 The Youth

Advice I would give to the youth is just be yourself, follow your goals ,at least to try to accomplish your dreams, and be a leader. Always remember what you do is cool, you should not have to be forced to do anything by anyone that's cool. Inside you are your own character and whatever you do is cool no matter who likes it. Something to take in consideration is that you're young, you should enjoys these years because as the older you get the more complicated life gets. So love, live, life, and don't forget education is important for future references.

Advice To My Peers

So throughout this entire six week program we have been getting advice from everybody we go to visit, whether it has been about career choice, college, or just taking your future seriously. I took all of this advice to heart. The advice that I took the most from is to do something that you will be happy to wake up and do every morning. Especially something that you would like to do for the rest of your life. Some advice I would give to other people is to participate in different programs. I think that everybody should explore all their options, step out of their comfort zone and experiment different things. If it is something you don't like let it go and don't go back to it. If it is something you enjoy do it again, find more programs related to it. Don't let the world pass you by experience the whole world and all the opportunities that you have. Realize that whatever you do should be something you love, so find the best thing out of everything you have explored.

My Final Words ☻

This 6-week program has come to an end. From an unknown beginning to a well-known ending the Turn It Up team has grew and bonded great new friendships. Even though there is a possibility that we may not talk to one another outside of this program , I'm thankful for spending the past 6 weeks with my fellow teammate. Having great boss-ladies (Danica *& Mary Ellen) we have learned many new things. With the new skill that we have learned from them and this program I hope that continue these skill and take them with us. This program has made me realize it never hurts to be different and to ALWAYS be yourself, because people will accept you for you if you believe it or not. We shared laughter, agreements and even had little arguments from time to time , we have learned how to agree to disagree in a respectful manner. If i could do this all over again i would. #I♥MY_TurnItUpTeam.

♦Don't ever think you cant accomplish anything above and beyond, the sky is the limit. In order for you to achieve it FIRST you must dream it. ♦

Never Give up and Never Give In

Over the past six weeks, we went to many different places and interviewed many different people on all different types of subjects. They all told us the same thing in their own words, "Do what you love". My advice to all the young people is not only to do what you love, but to strive for the best in life. We as young people often give in to the typical statistics too easily and forget that we are the future. There is nothing in this world that we are not capable of and although we are all different people with different personalites, we all should remember that the sky is the limit and to never give up on our dreams. There are going to be trials and tribulations in our lives but that's part of life. These obstacles are not difficult to overcome and when we do overcome them, it makes us so much stronger. Don't become part of the crowd, don't just give up and say you can't because the mind is a powerful thing and when you tell yourself that you can't then you will begin to believe that you can't. In the words of the ReadNex poetry squad "BE DIF'RENT" and in the words of Elissa Davidson and many others, do what you love because if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.

ADVICE

Sometimes you can get caught up in different situations, but you have to not get yourself caught up in the hype. This is hard not to do because you have to do things to hang out with your friends, like where the same shoes or dress the same way but your true friends would except you for who you are no matter what. Also, stick in school because school is very important; no matter how many times you hear this it is true, very true. When you get into the work force it doesn't matter how much you make, from 10 dollars and hour to 7.50 and hour, but save your money. Yeah, you can spend a little but don't spend that much. It's all about how much you save, not how much you make, as my grandfather would say to me. Also, figure out out what you want do in your life, and make sure it is something you love.

Advice to the kids!

Many kids these days need a word of advice! For one thing kids these days, some may not get those special words like,"you can do it" or maybe a "do the best you can do! So kids don't get that push towards the positive side, which leads to the child going down the wrong path. My word advice is never give up, if you can't achieve what you want to do,still go out and do it. Find a way to achieve it in a different (POSITIVE) way. Don't let anyone tell you, you can't do it! Like Obama "YES WE CAN!" try hard. Don't let anyone stop you or anything, whether its through physical actions or mentally. If someone says your not smart enough to be a doctor, prove them wrong! Other than that: Be strong! Physically and mentally. Never give up!
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Advice 4 Us

I have learned many different thing thoughtout my life and some the best advice that I can give you is not to over think any situation. Overthinking a situation makes it way harder then it needs to be. If you take a second to breathe and calm down it will make your life easier. You know the answer but can't find it if you try to find every possible reason to think that your first guess maybe wrong. Just take a chance and calm down. Then you will see how easy you can solve a problem.

Suffering In Silence

I watched a video piece on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 about a guy name Emery Taylor that was living with AIDs. He explained to everyone that it wasn't as bad as everyone always makes it seem. The unique thing about Emery is that he has lived a very healthy life. He wasn't promiscuous like others may have been, he never did drugs or drank, and he was only with one person. He lived his life like a normal person for over 10 years (even though he had AIDs) because he hasn't gotten really sick. While I was watching the video, Emery said that there were young people that he went to church with when he was a teenager that had HIVs also but they didn't know because they ALL suffered in silence together. This quote was very compelling to me because all these teens had the same illness but couldn't speak about it. They felt like they had no one to talk to about it because they were going to be judged and treated differently. This is one of the causes of the spread of this disease. Everyone is afraid to speak and get judged or treated like a stranger so they don't speak it about it and since they refuse to speak about it, it gets spread to their partner or whoever. No one should feel as if they can not speak about what is going on. People tell them not to talk about it because they think that they're protecting them but they really don't know that they are hurting them. They're adding on to their silent pain and suffering, it's eating these individuals alive to know that they can not inform the world to stop them from going through what they went through. These people are not animals, they are humans who are dealing with an illness that they can not control and its only fair for them to be able to speak out and inform the world and get the same treatment as a person that is not positive. The world can not change if we all stay quiet and let everything stay the way they are.

MR.X The Jerk

Mr.X you need to realize that taxpayer money is paying for stuff that doesn't relate to us as in the ones that can walk. People who are disabled should be able to enjoy the beautiful view just like you can walk over back and forth on the bridge and enjoy it also. It is not fair we are all equal we are all born the same but, yet some people are different sometimes bad stuff happen where you end up in a wheel chair you might jump off a cliff to eight inches of water, and are now bound to a wheelchair. What makes that different then you Mr.x they are the same exactly the same as everyone else. Give the people who are less fortunate then you enjoy what you get to do and that is walk across the bridge just like you.

Elevator on the Hudson

As individuals, of course people in wheelchairs would love to be on the Walkway on the Hudson, so government is considering paying to create an elevator for the people with disabilities. The reason why tax payers would consider helping is probably because they would want everyone to be equal. At the same time Mr.X has a point to this situation. Our economy is in a financial crisis!!! So money should be saved towards the people with no jobs so people can have more efficient lives. At the same time the people can go on the other side of the bridge...but what if they live in Poughkeepsie and don't have a car? Now what? All of this is unfair yet confusing. There is no say in this dispute, its either one way or the other.

A Look Into Others Life's

Big understanding about having disabilities is looking into the life of a person with a disability. When looking into a person's life don't judge a person because he or she his handicapped or is disabled. It is also not good to look down on them and to make them feel bad that they are not healthy like you. You should always look and encourage a disabled person,and let them know they can still be the same person no matter what. In the Turn It Up team web quest we have taken the time to show the percentages of how many people are living with a disability. Now I have watched videos to see how people are living with them and how they are still having a successful life. A video that I have watched that was compelling to me is actually all of them, because it opened my eyes to see how people are getting out there and showing how they feel, and how life is still different but yet the same. The one that touched me the most is the Video "Living with AIDS!" Why this video stood out from the rest is because, it is hard to have a relationship with someone when they know that you have AIDS and its hard to live a life with AIDS. Some people die from it some people suffer but when looking at etay1207 the person who made the video, I see a person who is having a great life and is not all depressed all the time and just down about himself. Living with a disablity is not exactly how anyone thinks, and it is not the end of the world as the video "Living with AIDS" explains. It is living a life normal from everyone else but not normal as the rest.

"Mr.X' Response

"I don't see why we should have to pay for some guy in a wheelchair when no one else would use it. It's a waste of taxpayer money. Besides, if they're in a wheelchair, maybe they shouldn't be going up over the river, anyway" . I feel that if many disable people were to read or hear this, they would be highly offend. Mr.X, was in the wrong for saying that people that are in wheelchairs really don't have any business on the walkway. That is rude and also untrue, I feel that anybody should be allowed to go on the walkway when they want without being discriminated against. But on the other hand I don't agree that, that much money should be spent on the walkway to make it wheelchair accessible, but i do feel that people in wheelchairs should be able to get on the walkway. From watching videos on people with disabilities i feel that everyone should be treated equal and be able to do with the next person can do.

Rise To Walkway Elevator

"I don't see why we should have to pay for some guy in a wheelchair when no one else would use it.It's a waste of taxpayer money. Besides, if they're in a wheelchair, maybe they shouldn't be going up over the river, anyway"said by Mister X.I think that was an ignorant comment and that you can have an opinion but just find a better way of saying it. I also believe that spending $2.4 million package on elevators and stairs is really expensive and we are in debt as it is.I think that was a good idea but we should find a different way to let disabled people go on the walkway. I also think that there is some cons of having a disabled person that high and it being crowded it wouldn't be that wheelchair accessible even with the elevators; it would make it more difficult for them to even enjoy themselves with without getting stares for people .In my opinion I think they should think this further through because there are more cons than pros.

Senator Saland

The Turn It Up team got the opportunity to go speak with Senator Saland and ask him about his career and other questions regarding his career and life. When we all eagerly walked into his office we were quick to notice the numerous amount of awards and plaques in the front of his office. There was many pictures around the wall of him participating in other youth programs, talking to other people involved in politics and more. Were able to see his office and then went to a conference room prepared for us to all have a discussion with the senator. He informed us that this was a career that he had dreamt about since he was a young child. This was one of the many things that stuck with me even after the interview. A young child interested in politics is rare but the Senator is clearly happy to do his job, and good at it. We also discussed the reactions towards him that came with him passing the new marriage equality bill. We discussed how he felt about the numerous amounts of negative reactions he received. He told us that he was not affected by all the hate mail and that it is expected. He also explained to us that his initial decision was to vote against the marriage equality bill, but he had a change of mind and decided to do what he thought was fair and appropriate. Saland also discussed with us less serious topics such as his view on the new school uniform policy in the Poughkeepsie school district. After talking to him we all realized that Senator Saland is a normal person doing his job. We very much appreciate the fact that he took the time out of his day to talk to us. It was one of many eye opening experiences with the Turn It Up team.

AWESOME WHEELCHAIR PERFORMANCE

The link I choose was the wheelchair dancing team. This was convincing because it proved that able bodied people and disabled people can be the same. I found it convincing cause they were very fun to watch. What I also found convincing was that it's not once in the blue moon you find a wheelchair dancing team. I loved this fact about the girls going out their way to practice this because I doubt that it's easy. I like that they proved that able bodied people are not the only ones who can dance to hip hop. In conclusion this was a nice experience and I enjoyed it.

MY OPINOIN

I think who are disabled should be able to that people go over the walk bridge because it is a public park. People like Mr. X sound very ignorant when they say things like"besides if they are in a wheel chair maybe they shouldn't go up over the walk bridge anyway." That is discriminating against people with disabilities.There are so many children and teens who have a disability.How would you feel if some one said they don't think your child should go on the walk bridge because he or she is in a wheelchair? But, I do think that we should not put in the elevators. We are going through a recession and don't have enough money for simple things why put in a 2.4million dollar elevators?People who do have a disability should come over to the Poughkeepsie side of the bridge were there are not any stairs.