We're staying at a hotel in Orlando tonight. There are two large convention groups staying here: A group of homosexuals and a group of New Agers. It makes for some interesting conversations in the elevator. Yes, America, circa 2008; we've come a long way, baby. One proxy for our societal drift is the angst you hear from a lot of young people. They see their see their peers messing up; they listen to CNN, and they wonder "where's the hope?" So we need to see examples of the ways that a few of them are changing the world.

I found some good examples on the CNN site: Young People Who Rock. Here are three of them:

1. Seventeen-year-old Melissa Urfirer founded Shoot for Success after working as a volunteer with homeless youth in New York City - When kids experience tragedy, they don't express themselves as easily as adults do. Urfirer saw that when she taught poetry at a local homeless shelter. Some kids didn't take to it very easily, but their feelings were brought out when Melissa brought out disposable cameras. The kids eagerly captured the scenes of their lives, writing quick, cathartic captions about what they saw. Melissa saw the shots as art. She also saw how the photos represented their
ability to dream.

2. 18 year-old Catherine Cook started myyearbook.com, the third largest social network in the United States. She did so after hearing the story of Megan Meier; a 13-year-old girl who killed herself after being harassed online. So far, some 200,000 teens have pledged to "think before they click" and learn how to respond if they are the target of a cyberbully. Catherine hopes to have 1 million people sign the pledge in 2008.

3. Kate Atwood's mom died from breast cancer when she was 12. Atwood saw the need for an organization to bring bereaved children together to let them know they're not alone. In 2003, she started Kate's Club, a group that empowers kids after the loss of a parent or sibling. What other examples of "young people who rock" do you know?