If you’re friends with us Facebook and you get our emails, you hear a lot about stuff: That is, stuff that we’re asking you donate, stuff we bought with the money you contributed and stuff that we delivered to the school.

We’re getting pretty good at stuff. (And so are you! Thanks!)

But, quietly, in the background, we’ve also been doing some great things with our enrichment program. Since that’s the one arm of Food for Thought that doesn’t require us to constantly hound you for donations, we haven’t told you much about it. We’re due for an update!

Meet the writer girls

Today I’m going to spotlight a writing group that I’ve been running at the school since October. Let me tell you, it has been quite the experience. I’ve been shocked, honored and challenged by this group of young women. My hope is that, in return, I’ve inspired at least a few of them.

When I first started doing this workshop I was …  nervous. I had several things to be apprehensive about:

1. I’m not a trained teacher.

2. I’d been in lots of writing workshops but I’d never lead one.

3. My growing-up experience was very different from these girls. I grew up in small towns and suburbs. I’d barely stepped foot in an urban environment until I was an adult.

4. Teenagers can be … scary.

5. What if none of them were interested? What if they just stared daggers at me and wished that I would shut up and/or die?

The first session I probably talked too much and was way too bubbly just out of pure nerves. However, once we got into the writing the girls seemed to take to it. Most of them had no problem sharing their work with the group — especially the ones who were pumped to share the tale of their latest sexual conquest.

I eventually had to say that, yes, sex is a part of life and it can be a great topic to write about, but that we weren’t going to write about it in our workshop. Reason: It was too distracting and kept them from focusing on the writing. I felt like such a killjoy. However, I think some of the lesser-experienced girls were relieved to have that topic off the table.

Making progress

A few sessions later, we were on a roll. Some of the girls asked if I could come every week. I always time the exercises (Ex: “Write for 7 minutes on something you remember.”) and on a few occasions they asked to write for longer stretches instead of grumbling about the exercise.

One month, a super-fantastic donor sent in several boxes of books for leisure reading. I gave the girls first crack at them before I passed the rest of the books on to the teachers. The girls gobbled them up. “You mean we can take as many as we want?” they asked. “I’m gonna get me something to read on the bus,” one said. They all left with at least three books.

Then something sad but wonderful happened: I lost my whole group, save one. The good news is that most of them got to return to their regular schools. Keep in mind: they’re often at the school we serve because of past discipline problems. Getting “restored” meant that they were staying out of trouble. The bad news: I wasn’t going to see them again.

However, I have a new group now — and it’s a whole different vibe from the last one. Most of my new girls were less hesitant right out of the gate. Several were eager to read their work and showed passion and insight from the get-go. One girl, whom I later found out is a rapper, was especially creative.

The hard stuff – learning how to deal

I always ask the girls to read their work to the group unless it’s extremely personal or embarrassing. One girl didn’t want to read hers, but instead passed her notebook to me. I scanned the page and quickly saw why she didn’t want to read, as she’d written about some upsetting events in her family life. This girl wasn’t there for the my most-recent session, but I hope to see her next time. Even if she never reads aloud, I hope that perhaps she can learn to find some comfort in her confusing world by expressing herself through writing.

Throughout the school year, situations like this have occurred several times. I’m often surprised and saddened by the stories some of “my girls” share. I’m still learning how to handle those instances. I try not to make a big deal of an upsetting piece of writing. I try to focus on the concepts related to writing, but I also have to acknowledge the content — after all, that’s what we’re trying to get to — the meat of the story. I’m not sure what the right approach is. I’m learning, too.

Trust. Belief. Creativity.

Finally, I’ve started a new thing: I begin each session by having the girls listen to an excerpt of a great book with a powerful narrator. The first time I read an excerpt of Push (later turned into the movie Precious) by Sapphire. They ate it up and every single one of them wanted to borrow my book. (I got copies for all of them to keep and gave them out at the next session.) The second time I read from The Catcher in the Rye.

I’m choosing books that begin with strong, authentic voices right in the opening pages. I want the girls to see that writing doesn’t have to be stuffy and academic. I tell them that their stories matter. I urge them to find their own voices. We talk about creativity and about how we’re all creative, we just have to trust ourselves. In those moments, some of those girls lock their eyes right on me. They suspect that they might have some talent but they’re not sure. They want to believe in themselves.

Those are the moments that I relive over and over as I’m driving away.

Reading an excerpt from Push by Sapphire