Profile of Jamie Tworkowski – He is the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), a non-profit which provides spiritual guidance to trouble teenagers and also earns $3 million annually in merchandise sales. “Self-injury and depression are on the rise statistically,” says Tworkowski. “Kids have always suffered — the difference now is that you hear about these things in the media, and it gives kids ideas. You’re depressed, and you read about Angelina Jolie cutting herself, and you think, ‘Maybe that could work for me.’ Kids are trying to figure all this stuff out on their own. They are confronting this pain alone.”(Rolling Stone) photo by Peter Yang

Is cheerleading a sport? – Title IX requires that universities provide sports representation by gender that is proportional to enrollment.  With the proportion at US colleges 57% females, colleges want to count cheerleading as a sport rather than an activity, but is it? On the other hand, as Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a former head of the Women’s Sports Foundation, told me: “We can’t allow schools to recast cheerleading as a sport in name only so as to allow schools to provide fewer athletic opportunities for girls.” (NPR.com)

(∆) Football players mentor 5th graders – Carrboro High School football players mentor 5th grade males at Frank Porter Graham to get them excited about school. “[The football players] are superheroes in the eyes of the fifth graders,” says a teacher. (Carrboro Citizen)

More graduates moving back home – Melissa Meyer was the top student in her high school, interned for a US Senator, and graduated from a $200,000 college, but when she applied to 30 jobs and heard nothing, she moved back in with her parents. “My triumphant return!” Melissa whispers sarcastically. (Herald Sun)

I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I’m not going to win. But I’m still writing. I wrote over 3000 words today, which is a lot for me. Maybe someday I’ll write 10k in one day.

Here’s a quote I found by Jamie Tworkowski, the founder of TWLOHA, that I thought was inspiring (though it has nothing to do with nano). Actually, the whole blog I got this from is inspiring.

“And God must be a pretty big fan of “today”, because you keep waking up to it. You have made known your request for a hundred different yesterdays, but the sun keeps rising on this thing that has never been known. Yesterday is dead and over. Wrapped in grace. Those days are grace. You are still alive, and today is the most interesting day. Today is the best place to live.”

The recent issue of Rolling Stone has an article on featuring Jamie Tworkowski of To Write Love on Her Arms.

Their blog posted a really cool video and article about the photo shoot they did with people who’ve been affected by to work of TWLOHA.

File Under: He’s pretty tall.

This was posted on the To Write Love on Her Arms facebook page. I thought i’d share it with the rest of you since i don’t think everyone keeps up with there blogs on facebook.

“i was in Virginia Thursday to speak at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. i got in early and had the chance to spend a few hours with my friend Nicole. Well, she feels like a friend now but the truth is i’d never met her before Thursday. Some of you have heard me talk or write about my friend Zeke, who died by suicide in January 2006. Zeke and i worked together at Hurley. Well, Zeke lived in Virginia Beach and Nicole was his girlfriend of more than three years when he died. She was the one who found him.

i’d traded emails with Nicole in recent weeks but never met her in person. We met for lunch on Thursday. i told her i wanted to eat where the locals eat and so she suggested a place by the Inlet. i pulled up a few minutes before her and the first thing i noticed was the word “Zeke” spray-painted on a wall near the restaurant’s entrance. Zeke died over three and a half years ago and yet it was clear in that first moment that he has not been forgotten.

As we ate, i asked Nicole a lot of questions about Zeke. He was good at everything. We smiled at the stories. She spoke of his quiet pain, unknown to most. i asked about the days since he died, how has she recovered, how has she survived… She spoke with strength and grace. She said she’s different now, doesn’t buy “busy” as a way of life, says she’s learned to slow down, to pause for the things that matter, for people and moments and conversations. She talked about her incredible friends and about going to counseling.

After lunch, i asked if she might show me around town – show me the places that were Zeke’s, help me know his story. She said she would be happy to. We stood on the boardwalk at First Street, watching the cold waves break – Zeke was a great surfer and this was his. She pointed to the plaque on the end of the jetty, placed in the silence of the night, Zeke’s friends saying his memory would stay with them always.

She explained Virginia Beach, the surf shops and the bars and the characters that make it. She showed me the house that they shared. “We built a home together,” she told me.

That night, Nicole joined me on stage at Old Dominion, and for the first time ever, she spoke her story into a microphone. It was incredibly brave. Afterwards, people lined up to meet her, to thank her, to share what they found in her words.

As we stood in the parking lot at the end of the night, she told me she was blown away, by the confessions that she heard, so many young people sharing their stories. i thanked her, said her words had been a gift for all of us in the room, encouraged her to keep sharing them. She said she would like that.

i wish i could bring him back, this man she loved, this friend to so many… But the weight of suicide is it’s permanence. Each of us, we are thousands of moments and choices and days. Zeke walked away from all of it that night in January.

We are left with the questions, with the weight of all the memories. The only sense that i can make of it is that Nicole now has a story to tell, that her words serve as a gift to other people, her scars suggesting that they are not alone in their wounds, not alone in their remembering…

Today is National Survivors of Suicide Day. If you’ve lost someone that you love, then we stand with you today. We say it matters, their story and yours, and we join you to remember. Please know that you are not alone.

To learn more about National Survivors of Suicide Day, please CLICK HERE.</a>

Peace to you today.

jamie”

It is quite a feat to allow oneself to feel the weightiness of a broken world, knowing that we are powerless to cure it, yet remain unhindered in wholly committing oneself to the betterment of it. Experiencing the weightiness of a broken world in any measure is a feat in itself, but to add in one’s own investment to a cause that never seems satiated is like a circus act. We ask for a heart that breaks like God’s, yet we cannot handle it because our hearts are far too weak.  We ask for God to use us for his purposes, yet we are ignorant mess-ups who couldn’t possibly be of much help to God.  As ironic as it sounds, I believe this is what hope in God looks like.

I often experience this irony.  I have so much passion for evangelism and for others to know the Lord fully, but I often feel that everything is “a chasing after the wind.”  Read Ecclesiastes.

However, the apostle Paul tells us to run in such a way to win the prize.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul explains life as ferocious fight to the finish.  Sprinters train and train so that when they compete, they will reach the finish line first.  Two things confuse me about this though: Christians aren’t trying to be ‘better’ than other Christians, and if the prize/crown we receive is God and eternity, then don’t we already have that?  I still believe that when Paul talks about the crown he is talking about victory.  Although we already have victory in Christ the moment we receive Him as our Lord and Savior, we are still asked to run a race as if we have everything to lose if we fail. This is faith.  If our goal was to receive salvation, then we have made Christianity about us.  However, if our goal is Christ, MORE Christ, then we have every reason to sprint, if we indeed are madly in love with Him.   When a child has been separated from his mother for a time, he may run to her when he firsts sees her again.  This is especially true if the child comes from a place that was dark and frightening.  Why does he run?  Won’t he get to her either way?  It seems that the method of getting to his mother does not make a difference in whether he gets there or not, but his running does seem to imply a love and longing for the one who will keep in safe in her arms.

I know there are times when life seems hopeless, when this race seems aimless.  I have often felt that this world was meaningless.  I have been so weighed down by hurt and heartache that it leaves me immobilized. I have also felt depressed because of the many evils in the world.  It feels like this race is so meaningless sometimes.  Truly, the thing that keeps me going is hope in Christ.  It’s not easy because it still feels like I’m hanging by a thread sometimes, but it’s my only hope.  We all must hope in something.  If we do not believe in God, we must believe that either there is no God, or that there is some imperfect, evil, or incompetent God.  Either of the latter two options would make this life not worth living.  I want to reassure you that I am not entertaining thoughts of losing my life, but I do know that some do.  Many feel depressed.  But when depression is coupled with hopelessness then we are in trouble.  We need hope.

This is how God showed his love for us.  Christ wrote love on his arms when he allowed the nails to be driven through them.  He wrote love on his arms so you would not have to express self-hate on yours. Therefore protect your life, because Christ gave his for yours!

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13, 14

I just liked these pictures.

http://www.twloha.com/

Show Your Support Today By “Wearing The Word Love On Her (YOUR) Arm!”

*NOTE* If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide i urge you to talk to someone and/or call (1-800-SUICIDE) log onto (http://www.befrienders.org) to find someone you can talk to in your area!

YOUR LIFE IS WORTH LIVING SO LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST

Be sure to visit: http://www.twloha.com for more information on this topic.events.sponsors.and merchandise

Definitions Of Love:
1) the benevolent affection of God for his creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God
2) a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child or friend

Today I had another epic skype conversation with a friend. She and I talked for a total of 6 hours (we got disconnected once). Last week we talked for five. How do we do it? Where does the time go? Neither of us really knows. We talk about everything from social justice (something that’s big on both of our hearts), to boys (duh, we’re girls), to our faith, to every and anything else.

She and I have decided to do a blog once a day for the month of November (now that I’ve admitted it publicly I’m going to have to hold myself to it). We didn’t start until the third, so it may be a little less than the full month.

She mentioned tonight as we were getting off (at 4 am, her time) that she had intended to write today about To Write Love On Her Arms*, something we both decided to do and according to the facebook invite, it was to be celebrated today (her time) or yesterday (mine). Anyways, because of the late time, when we stopped talking, she just wrote a short blurb and went to bed.

Did she really miss celebrating it by not writing about it? I think she chose to live it instead. She spent the day totally loving on the middle school students in her youth group. Then she spent the time to talk to me for an insane amount of time. Sounds like living it to me.

For me, my biggest love language is quality time, time when I really get to talk to someone and hear their heart and open mine to them. It can take the shape of real conversation, texts, crazy facebook notes, letters, instant messenger, or tons of other ways. For me, it can’t be forced into a short conversation in a few minutes. I don’t open up about deeper things in short amounts of time.

Being so far away from everyone and everything I know has been hard for that reason. It’s hard to spend quality time with people, when there are only a few odd hours when your free (non-work/sleep time) matches up and weekends for both ends are spent doing things that are not around the computer. That makes me feel the distance more. I feel more distant from friends when I don’t talk to them regularly.

Anyways, she showed me this website and I realized I needed to share some of the things it was talking about with her. I needed someone to know some of the deeper things that were going on with me, so that I would truly be known and so that someone could lift me up in prayer. After sharing with her, I didn’t feel like I was really so far away from everyone. Also, being a verbal processor, some of the problems that I thought seemed so huge, seemed so much smaller.**

This particular friend showed me true friendship by willing to sit and listen, to share her heart. I am so thankful.

——————————

*Please note, that while this site is aimed at people “struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide,” those are not things I’m dealing with. However, I have been dealing with the distance from home (some homesickness) and making friends in a new place. It has not been easy, but the Lord has been holding me up and providing new friendships in unexpected places.
**Also, please note that this is not a cry for help, but a way to say thank you to a friend, a chance to reflect on the way I spent my day.

blogs of the week
==============
This can’t be real (Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff – @prodigaljohn)
and the follow up
30000 in 18 hours (Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff – @prodigaljohn)
and another follow up
Let’s build a 2nd kindergarden (Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff – @prodigaljohn)
just cos God is um-mazingly AWESOME

Stop complaining and start a revolution (My Experience As A Youth Pastor – Nick “The Geek” Croft – @puricristos)

new find of the week
=================
Sunday Stage (In Recovery – Sean Tucker – @seantuck)

My lament (In Recovery – Sean Tucker – @seantuck)

site of the week
=============
i wrote this for you

song of the week
=============
The way she feels by Between the trees

If you are unaware, today is “To Write Love On Her Arm” Day where people are encouraged not only to write love on their arms but to live out love in their lives.

Came across a great article that has some good reflections about this day, read it here. (Taken from twloha blog)

I hope that you participated in the event and if you didn’t, you still have time!! Show someone love who needs just a little!

[mood | silly]

[listening to | Mr. Brightside by The Killers]

So…To Write Love On Her Arms Day is over. It was a huge event with my group of friends, and we spent our morning laughing together and writing all over our arms with Sharpies and pens. A lot of us drew, and I wrote a poem for everyone, which was promptly written down on any bare flesh we could find on our arms.

The poem is a sweet little thing I whipped up on the fly called “Lonely Hearts”:

Lonely hearts and twisted thoughts
Tapping on piano keys
Fingers strum an old guitar
The guitar with broken strings
The soprano has lost her voice
The notes sound pale and thin
The band is lost, broken apart
From the darkness within.

Although it hurts
It doesn�t win
The light breaks through
The darkness held within
It warms their heart
This brilliant light
And reminds them they are friends
And they will never be torn apart.

It was a magical day, and it made us all feel better about ourselves. All of us were brought together because we had the need to heal. We all had been depressed, and together we are trying to recover. Our friendship is strong because we all know that we’re going to be there for each other. I consider myself very blessed to have friends that are like family to me.

I hope you all had a fun day, and I hope to hear back from you if you participated today. I myself will be busy working and drawing.

Much love,

Victoria

Love is the Movement

It’s To Write Love on Her Arms day. TWLOHA is a movement with an amazing cause, and I quote:

“To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.”

Today, Friday, November 13th is ‘TWLOHA day“. I don’t think it was started by the creators of TWLOHA, but rather, I think it came from people all over that want to help and support the cause. All you have to do is write the word ‘Love’ on your arm/s and you are a part of it.

This movement sort of hits close to home with me, so I’m hoping that my post will inspire some people to give either TWLOHA a look, or to write love on their arms — either way I will be happy, WWD out .

my 2010 TWLOHA "design"

As many of you know, today is TWLOHA day: To Write Love On Her Arms, a day to spread awareness about issues such as self-harm and suicide prevention.  The organization itself is amazing, and you really should check it out and donate if possible.  They have done a lot to raise awareness about the “ugly” issues that no one really wants to address.  But if you shove something underground because you don’t want to talk about it or confront it, more and more people are going to suffer.  And TWLOHA is determined not to let that happen.

Last year on this day, I handed out postcards to my students with information about the organization that had the suicide prevention phone number on it.  This year, student-less, I have stickers, one of which is on my laptop.  It’s a little thing to do.   And I have a shirt.  And sometimes people ask me what it means, and that gives me a chance to expose someone to something they may not be aware of.  Or it gives me the chance to correct common myths.

• MYTH: “cutters” aren’t just failed suicide attempts.

People who cut do so because it meets a need.  It relieves anxiety.  It calms them down.  It numbs the pain.  It lets them escape the world for awhile.  It’s the same result as when someone drinks or uses drugs as a means of escape.

• MYTH: People who cut can just stop.

This is like saying the person addicted to cocaine can just walk away.  Self-injury is not just a behavioral addiction.  When the body is injured, the body releases endorphins, natural opiates.  That take away the pain.  Take away the thing that masks the pain, and you will have an individual going through withdrawal.

• MYTH: People who cut are stupid.  I mean, who would do that to him or herself?

I was salutatorian of my high school class and voted most likely to succeed.  I had a 4.0 during various semesters in college, graduating summa cum laude.  I began cutting when I was twelve.

• MYTH: There is no hope for people who cut.  Obviously they want to cut.

Most people who cut have a love/hate relationship.  They love the results of cutting-the escape from pain-but they hate the fact that they cut.  I hate that my arms are covered in scars and that I am self-conscious every time I step in front of a classroom wearing short sleeves. But there is hope.  There are treatment programs for self-harm now.  There are treatment modules developed specifically for people who engage in self-injury.  I did an intensive inpatient program for self-harm and was IP for three months, followed immediately by a three month outpatient program. Both used Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and I still find those skills helpful on a day-to-day bases.

There is hope.  There is a way out.  Like anything else, you have got to want it hard enough, and you’ve got to work like hell to get there.  But it is possible.

I just heard about To Write Love on Her Arms this morning. Their mission statement suggests that they “are dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.”

Sure wish I had heard about this years ago.

I’m so far removed from that life that it’s hard to write about. It doesn’t seem real. But it is, for so many of us.

I’m here, writing love on my arm. Every day. And I’m so glad that I actually can.

As you might have noticed, I’ve been a bit absent from this blog recently. It wasn’t intentional, I’ve just been incredibly busy with some other things. Namely my YouTube channel, as well as some other fantastic and exciting ForeignRobot things that I can’t tell you about just yet.

I wanted to stop by really quickly and talk with you guys about a couple things.

I don’t know if you you’ve read my page titled “Who Am I?“, but in that post I quickly mention my passion for community. I feel like I’ve written about it in one of my blog posts, but I can’t seem to find it. Let me stress it here.

I believe in community with every fiber in my body. As humans, we were made for it. We need each other. We are social beings. The idea of community is so important that I don’t think I could talk about it enough. Relationships are essential for our survival.

A major part of what I hope to accomplish with this ForeignRobot project is to help build a community.

I love Twitter. You could say that I’m obsessed with it. I also love music, you could say that I’m obsessed with that as well. There is a band called MyChildren MyBride which I like to a pretty good extent, so I follow their lead singer on Twitter. Today he said something that really struck me. So, of course, I retweeted him. Below is his tweet.

“i want my lyrics to help, to inspire, and to let everyone know that theyre not alone… no matter what theyre going through”

THAT is what I’m all about. Letting people know that they’re not alone. He summed up my mission in 140 characters or less.

In addition to that, I want for people to get involved. ForeignRobot has never been about me. It’s about reaching people, as well as having them participate. I’m not going to make the bold statement and say that I want it to become a movement, but I want to point out that something can only become a movement when people back it up and participate. It means more to people when it’s something that they believe in and they make an effort to help it grow.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you’ve probably read my two posts about To Write Love On Her Arms, and you would know how much I love them. That organization grew into a movement and has impacted countless lives. Today is TWLOHA Day, and I have the word “LOVE” written on my arm.

So I’m reaching out to you. If this is something you’re into, then you are encouraged to jump on in to this thing. Whatever it is that you do, do it. I have a friend named Grace who is currently working on some designs. She’s a part of this. What is it that you do? You can become a part of this. I never meant to do everything by myself. I always hoped that it could grow to the point where other people will want to join and add their talents.

Even if you think that you don’t have a particular area that you are skilled in, you are still just as a part of this as I am. Let us know who you are. Leave comments. Say something that will make people think. Join us on YouTube. Spread the word. Anything.

If you have any ideas on how you can get involved, or if you have any questions, feel free to send me an email to ForeignRobot@gmail.com If you ever have something you’d like me to blog about and give you my thoughts, just leave a comment or shoot me an email. Let’s make this thing grow. It’s all in your hands.

Grace | Peace | Love

-Josh

Today is To Write Love On Her Arms Day. It’s a a day where anyone and everyone can and should write the word LOVE on their arms in support those who are fighting against depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. This is a topic that hits home for me and those around…  On this day, just write love on your arms, and show it off.

Below is more information about TWLOHA and what today is all about:

“To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

To Write Love On Her Arms Day is a day where anyone can write the words love on their arms, to support those who are fighting against depression and those who are trying to recovering.

The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you’re part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. My friend Byron is very smart – he says that life is hard for most people most of the time. We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know that you’re not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know that pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption. We’re seeing it happen. We’re seeing lives change as people get the help they need. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it’s worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it’s possible to change.

Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence.

The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.

The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.

The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.

The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we’re more loved than we’ll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.”

Visit www.twloha.com  for more information.