It’s My Birthday So You Can Give Forward If You Want To

Yeah, its my birthday. And I am going to ask for one thing: Give it Forward. Go spend an hour with someone else, support them. Tell someone you appreciate them, and why. Pet a dog. Because dogs also need unconditional love.

Me? I’m supporting my sister, and her class via this GiveForward campaign.

She is raising money so she can help the kids she teach visit colleges. 98% of the kids want to be the first person in their family to attend college. So rad.

That’s my sister, Natalia. I’ve known here for awhile. She is a decent kid.

When she was born at 10:08 am after 18 minutes of labor, ensuring that my mom, yet again, did not miss a single episode of her favorite soap opera, All My Children, Natalia lifted her head.

I have often said that there are two types of people in this world, those at care about how the world effects them; and those that care first about how they effect the world.

Most of us operate in the former. We bemoan the difficulties the world presents, and we see life as a battle. A thing to overcome, to dominate, to own. We think, even in our philanthropy, about how our words about race, gender and sexual will be received by others. We care about us first.

Natalia has never been that way. I swear that simple head bob, while she sat with my mom, was an effort to see who she could support.

We are about 10 years apart, and when I was in college, she was barely in the double digits. As one might imagine, I was a good time kid, choosing fun over function consistently. Natalia, was a thoughtful kid who collected friends and compliments.

When I was home from school, we would walk around the neighborhood talking. Once, Natalia said to me “I am afraid of teenagers that smoke.”

“What if I smoked? Would you be afraid of me?”

In her Natalia way of furrowed brows and twisted lips, she slowly answered, “No. I guess it’s not what a person does that makes them nice, but who they are on the inside.”

She was 10. And that mentality has never shifted.

Now, she has dedicated herself to Overfelt High School. Her kids continue to text, facebook and hang out with her, long after they have graduated. She works with kids that have a long history of gang violence, poverty and most importantly, disbelief in their ability to be amazing. I’ve met these kids. They are nothing short of amazing.

As we in the tech industry debate the value of college, these kids see college as their way to a better life. These kids know that their neighborhoods and families will be vastly improved if they continue their education.

But, they don’t know what’s out there. They don’t even have the money for college applications or often to take the SAT. Imagine that:

College isn’t the difficulty; paying for the fucking SAT is.

Natalia takes her kids on a college tour. Shows them that college isn’t something for other people. Shows them that they are the owners of their future. Shows them that their limiters are not around them, but inside them.

If you want to help out her kids, cool. Here is the campaign.

Give if you want, but most importantly, just give forward.