Daydreaming

If I want to describe myself in a single word, it's daydreaming. The love of daydreaming was probably passed on to me from my father, who respected his dreams of easing the sufferings of other people so much that he set out to the hazardous combat zones of Iran-Iraq war to work as a medical volunteer when he was only 23 and his wife was pregnant. Indeed he never came back before he got so badly wounded that couldn't move for a few months.

Two years ago, my dreams of becoming a scientist brought me from Iran to the United States and to this University as a PhD student. But soon the barriers of language, culture, and presumptions made me feel lonely, marginalized and insignificant in my new community. It seemed to me that all my past dreams are going to wither. And longing for my family and all the people that I loved, I kept fantasizing of a single scene: reuniting with them. 

Right when I was going through this gloomy struggle I joined IMP, and met a lot of dreamers. One of them was Albert, a high school student who dreams of playing in his school football team, dreams of his single mom having enough money to buy Christmas gifts for her two kids, dreams of going to college and even dreams of reading more books to have more knowledge. But he had no hope that any of these dreams will come true as he was stuck in the cycle of failure, poverty, and drugs.

The struggles of me and Albert with the challenges and problems upon each of us, are by no means over. But being touched by the souls of the great people in IMP, we learned not to lose our hopes, and keep on daydreaming for a brighter future. It even taught us how to invent greater dreams out of our little frustrations and fantasies.

-- Hadi (IMP volunteer)

Dreaming Big

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional basketball player. Not in the WNBA; it wasn't even around yet. I wanted to be the first woman in the NBA. No matter what my friends, family, or coaches thought of that idea, they all supported it.

My dad's favorite saying was, "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right." When he was growing up, he didn't have a father, he got in all sorts of trouble, dropped out of high school, and joined the army during Vietnam. With help from my mom and the GI Bill, he was able to further his education and build a successful career in hospital administration. This allowed my family to move from a run-down neighborhood into a house with grass, a swingset in the backyard, and a good school system. Lots of people say that anything is possible, but I truly believe it.

When I moved to Baltimore to attend medical school, I was taken aback by a different atmosphere-- and atmosphere of demoralization. One student at Dunbar told me, "I'm just going to end up in jail anyway, so why try?" Other expressed frustration that they couldn't wait at a bus stop without being labeled a drug dealer. Many students who were performing poorly felt rejected by the school system and came to view teachers as adversaries rather than advocates. They felt like no one wanted them to succeed or even thought they could.

And then I met someone who had even bigger dreams than I did. Sarah wanted to inspire these teenagers to put faith in their educations. She wanted them to invest all their energy into achieving a future they didn’t even think was possible. Many thought IMP was a lost cause, but in 2007, I had the privilege of watching these teenagers graduate high school and go off to college to pursue their own dreams.

The accomplishments of these students make them heroes to everyone around them. To me, however, it doesn’t matter whether IMP has a 100% graduate rate or a 0% graduation rate. I would still have dedicated my afternoons, evenings, and weekends to tutoring and counseling these teenagers because I have one goal: to demonstrate that I believe in them. Everyone deserves to dream big, even if we don’t all end up in the NBA.

~Melissa (IMP Volunteer)

From Baltimore to Assam

IMP Student Dhaujee Kelly, currently attending Bowdoin College, received a scholarship to teach in India over her summer vacation. She is blogging about her experience and is a very talented writer. Check it out!

http://www.djatparijat.blogspot.com/

Incentive Mentoring Program

Welcome to the first IMP blog! For new members and guests, the Incentive Mentoring Program is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides intensive academic and social support to Baltimore City teenagers who are in immediate danger of being expelled from high-school. IMP engages these students in activities that build self-worth, academic pride, and civic responsibility. These remarkable students have achieved a 100% graduation and 100% college acceptance rate.