Are you interested in learning about a topic but never see it?  Let us know what you want to see on the blog or top stories, and enjoy exploring different sections in yspacesmc.org.  Thanks! 

A fishbowl is a way to get people’s opinion on a certain subject. The way a fishbowl works is there is an inner circle and an outer circle. The participants sit in the inner circle and the observers sit in the outer circle. The participants are asked questions and the observers listen and learn.

The supporters that attended our fishbowl included members of the school board, parents, teachers, community leaders, food services department, and students. From the discussions, a few themes emerged: food content and presentation; mealtime environment; student awareness/knowledge, involvement, and access; and budget issues. After this series of fishbowls, our hope is that most of these issues get improved.

To get involved in the food projects, you can contact Brian Lau at 650-369-1411 x6492 or brian.lau@yfes.

By Seema and Dolores, Sequoia Youth Advisory Board

Not many people give the word self-esteem much thought.  I know I don't.  Hi!  Nimo here again.  In this blog entry, I'll be talking about self-esteem, the down side of low self-esteem and the benefits of having high self-esteem.

The definition of self-esteem is how a person feels about his/herself.  According to a survey of 90,000 students (grades 7-12) from Family First Aid, self-esteem helps people deal with emotional stress.  Higher self-esteem also lead students to be more successful later on in life and make good choices.  Just imagine, higher self-esteem = full ride scholarship to the university of your choice!  Did you know, "teen pregnancy statistics show time and time again that girls who engage in unprotected sex often have lower self-esteem than their counterparts?" 

Lower self-esteem can also lead to depression or suicide.  According to Family First Aid, teens experience low self-esteem because of their appearance, peers, parents and having unrealistic expectations.  By appearance, I mean self image.  Teens tend to have low self-esteem because they are concerned about how they look.  Teens tend to feel bad about themselves when they see that there is an"irregularity" about their looks.  Teens, what I've learned from an issue of Essence (on the cover, it starred Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, and Angela Bassett) is that if you have an irregularity in your body, you have to learn how to embrace it and make it your strongest asset.  Don't let it bring you down. 

Low self-esteem can also be caused by a teen's peers.  If a peer is putting down another student or making that certain student feel like an outcast, the outcome of that student's distress will be even greater.  So please, stop teasing someone else who looks different from you.  We are all the same inside. 

To the parents - continuing to put down your child will make them feel unloved.  Parents, lay off on how your child looks.  We know that you are merely trying to help us, but you continuing to put us down makes us feel as if we're not worthy - like we don't ever do anything right.  Unrealistic expectations set for your child tends to put the child's self-esteem down.  An unrealistic expectation is when you expect your child to succeed in being a doctor when in reality, your child would rather just go to an art institute or some other place that their heart desires - other than Harvard, Yale, or Standford.  According to Family First Aid, if parents and teachers expect too much, the student feels that since they're not living up to expectations, they are a failure and thus causing them to have low self-esteem.

Youth, self-esteem is an important aspect of your life.  If you're feeling depressed, suicidal or down, try talking to someone, contact the local resources listed below or call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (it's anonymous).

Local resources:

YSpacesmc.org - Feelin' Good About Yourself section 

Youth & FamilyEnrichment Services (YFES)
Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF)
Puente de la CostaSur
Family & Children Services
Peninsula Family YMCA

Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1 (800) 273 - TALK

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Hello all, my name is Naftali and I recently wrote a Top Story on yspacesmc.org.  The Top Story I wrote talked about my garden and many other food-related issues the garden has lead me to.  One of the things my garden lead me to was a great place called Pie Ranch.  Over time, I have become more involved in Pie Ranch and have attended multiple conferences with them as a youth representative so to speak.  At one of the conferences I went to, I saw a truly inspiring presentation by a woman named Lily Yeh. 

Lily Yeh is the founder of an organization called Barefoot Artists.  Her organization’s goal is to work with poor people in communities around the world to help to make a better future for themselves and the world as a whole.  The organization does this by working with members of the community to produce artwork that transforms once rundown places into beautiful spaces for the community to enjoy.  One of their most recent projects was called the Rwanda Healing project. The project got the community members up, active and moving as they transformed their community one step at a time through art. 

Along with providing the community with beautiful art, the project allowed some of the emotional wounds brought about by the Rwandan genocide to be healed.  Many people often overlook the importance of emotional health but the project allowed many community members to overcome the emotional trauma of the experience.  Numerous studies have shown that it is much easier to obtain a higher level of physical health if you have good emotional health.  Likewise, art is often associated with improving emotional health and well being.  This project inspired me because it used art as a way to emotionally heal a community that has faced such immense hardship in the past.

Hi, Will here again to tell you about riding your bike to school.  I’m not in school anymore (I’m a class of ’07 graduate) but it hasn’t been too long since I was there. 

As a sophomore, I would ride my bicycle to school and had lots of fun doing it.  What I didn’t like, though, was that every now and then, I heard rumors about people’s bicycles getting stolen!  But if you use a lock properly, there is little to no chance that your bike will get stolen.  Also, sometimes there were not enough spaces to leave my bike in a rack. 

During my senior year, I changed schools and made an effort to ride my bike to school more often than before.  What encouraged me to bike to school was the fact that there were enough bike racks to park my vehicle safely without having to worry that it would get stolen or vandalized.  What I also liked about riding my bicycle to school was that the school encouraged the students to bike by giving stuff away to riders.  This one time, I won a movie ticket and another time I got some candy.  By riding my bicycle to school, I lost some weight and increased my stamina.  I became healthier than I had ever been. 

If your school is safe enough for you to ride a bicycle to, why not try it?  From my personal experience, I can assure you that it will be fun to bike.  If you don’t feel comfortable riding by yourself, try getting your friends to bike with you.  The more people that bike with you, the merrier.

Hey, this is Will again.  Today, I’ll be telling you about one of my favorite places to go hiking called Bayfront Park.  This place has everything: a jogging trail, a place to fly kites, a bike trail, historical facts about the site and bathroom and water drinking facilities.  On a warm, sunny day, you can go there and see lots of people doing various activities like the ones mentioned above and you can tell that they’re enjoying themselves.  If you decide to go on the various paths, you can enjoy the beautiful sights and the pretty animals of which there are many - such as squirrels, moles, rabbits, hawks, snails and other animals that I can’t remember at the moment.

Hiking is always an enjoyable experience, especially at this place.  When I was about 9-years-old, my father took me there to breathe some fresh air and to run around a little.  I saw the wildlife, heard nature and smelled all the pretty flowers.  Ever since that day, I knew that hiking out in a place like this could bring various benefits.  It can bring your stress level down, is good for your cardio and can give you everlasting memories.  Is there a place such as this in your neighborhood?  Try it out, and see for yourself all the great benefits of hiking.

Here's a link to find out about other parks in San Mateo County: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/portal/site/parks

Hey everyone!  Nimo here, again.  When I was in school, when the words P.E. escaped from someone's lips, I writhed.  It was as if they were sentencing me to death.  In this blog entry, I will be talking about whether or not I got a lot of physical activity during my P.E. classes.  My freshman year in high school, P.E. wasn't torture or fun - it was just laid back.  The teacher was really laid back and chill.  It seemed as if, at times, he didn't care until we get to the basketball and football section of our class!

I didn't have P.E. my sophomore year, but by junior year I was back to dressing into the navy blue shirt and shorts.  I had the same teacher as I did my freshman year and to be honest, we did NOT do anything.  To make matters worse, it was a yoga class full of girls.  We sat around and talked for what seemed like hours.  Sounds like a perfect day for girls, right?  While in the warrior pose, I thought to myself, "I really want to go outside and play football again."  

My senior year, I got serious and joined the weight training class.  The teacher was funny, but was also very serious and concerned when it came to youth dealing with obesity - he was fit for a guy his age!  Most of the time, I goofed off - only because I didn't feel comfortable working out with numerous boys around and, I guess, you can say the past two years with the laid back teacher has taken its toll on me.

After reading this, you probably have already figured out that I did not get enough physical activity in my P.E. classes.  Maybe it's just my theory, but I have reason to believe that when it comes to physical activity in your P.E. classes, it all comes down to YOU and if your environment makes it easy for you to be active.  We can't blame it all on the teachers, school, or the distractions around us.  There are many factors (environmental) that make it hard for people to get active.  It's not always the fault of the individual, although it doesn't help if they are not motivated to try.  What do you think?  Do you get enough physical activity in your P.E. classes?  What can we do to ensure that youth actually get some physical activity in their P.E. class?  I'll leave that for you guys to decide and ponder.  I leave you all with one love and happiness.  God bless.

Hey there, it's Jenny.  Cold weather doesn't mean we have to stay at home to exercise.  Exercising can be safe even when it's 20 degrees below zero outside.  You just have to know the "rules" before starting.  Here are some tips I got from my doctor.

It's safe for everyone to exercise in cold weather even if you have asthma or heart problems.  However, it's always best to check with your doctor and get his/her okay before starting.  

It's also important how you dress.  Dress in layers that you can remove easily when you feel your body getting too warm, and that you can put back on when you feel you need to.  You can start with a thin layer of synthetic material such as polypropylene. This material helps draw sweat away from your body.  You should avoid cotton since this stays wet next to your body.  Next, try fleece for insulation and top this with a water-proof breathable outer layer.  A heavy jacket or vest can cause some people to overheat. 

If it's really cold or you have asthma, you should wear a face mask or a scarf to cover your mouth.  Your hands and feet should always be protected since they're most vulnerable to frostbite. You can try a thin pair of gloves under a heavier set of gloves with wool or fleece.

Also wear shoes that give you enough room to wear thick thermal socks or a second pair of regular socks.  Don't forget a hat or headband, 30-40 percent of your body heat is lost through your head. 

Sunscreen is as important in the winter as it is during the summer as well as chapstick, and remember to drink plenty of fluids like water. 

When it's cold outside, there's no need to go hit the couch.  So who's ready to go?!  What is your favorite activity during the winter?

Here are some resources from the Get Healthy website:

• Local Activity Resource Directory
• Physical Activity section contains info on local parks, trails, and recreation programs and info on how to incorporate physical activity in your life