Esta es la Llave de mi Casa
I drop them all the time and I can often forget where I put them. I put one into the ignition of my car countless times while I hold my breath hoping that it will start! I run out the door and use it without even remembering at times, and I find old ones lying around that don’t fit any of the locks in my life. 
Keys have played a part in our lives for over 4000 years. The early Egyptians are credited with first putting them to use, including wooden and metal lock and key combinations. In our modern world, the humble little key has taken on many upgrades and new faces and uses, but always it represents one thing above all others – security. A simple little turn of the key when you leave your house or when you are trying to get your car to start can change the way you feel, relieve your anxiety, and even make you look forward to the day ahead. The key is an unsung hero.
There are often many people who come into our lives that we can learn from, despite how far apart our worlds may feel. Marina is someone like that in Rose’s life. Marina had been adopted by a Canadian/American family that had taken in 18 kids. Rescued from a life of risk and insecurity, she flourished under their love. However, their house was only so big,and so when Marina was old enough, she had to step out into the world on her own, and hope that she was ready. The family wanted to make sure she was taken care of and that she had a chance to make the most of the future in front of her. When Rose went to see her, she knew that she was going to be okay – because of what she kept repeating to them.In that small town of Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, there is a nursing home, Bueno Samaritano. It is full of amazing staff and grateful residents. And behind it, attached to the back side of the large building is a neat and well maintained little house. That day, standing in front of it was Marina, waving at Rose as she held up a key and repeated in Spanish, “This is the key to my house!” It was such a simple statement that held so much pride, hope, and assurance. She was going to be ok. That house was built for her because she is valuable and because she needs someone to believe in her.
For Rose, that simple key gave great insight into what life is like for the families and individuals that we work with through our Hero Holiday program. There is such peace of mind, hope and and assurance that can be brought by holding a key. Life can become more stable, nights can become more restful, and children can be better protected – all because of what that key represents.Next time you hold your house key in your hand, I hope you remember Marina and the countless Marinas around the world who need someone to believe in them and acknowledge that they are worth it. Because they are.To find out more about our Hero Holiday program and how you can be a part of building a home for someone like Marina, check out www.livedifferent.com.
Ryan has been on tour with LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) this past semester. He plays in the band, 
He couldn’t always stand outside of everything and not take a risk in getting to know someone. He couldn’t change what happened with Kevin, but he could begin to try to understand how to help others who may find themselves in similar trouble. He might never know exactly what to say or do, but he wasn’t going to take the easy way out anymore. He was going to stick it out and reach out and continue to believe in someone – even when they couldn’t believe in themselves.Each day when Ryan has stood on the stage and shared about his friendship with Kevin, he speaks to two different types of guys in the crowd: the ‘Kevins’ and the ‘Ryans’. The ‘Kevins’ need to know that they are never alone and that there are people around them who are genuinely looking for an opportunity to get to know them and reach out to them. And the ‘Ryans’ need to be reminded that there is a lot of power in their lives to make a difference for others. In the end, they both need each other.To find out more about LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) and our high school assemblies and programs, check out 
When money passes quickly through your fingers, it can be easy to forget its value. It’s almost as if it magically (and sometimes, thankfully) drops out of the ABM when you punch in that not-so-secret code. It shows up in our accounts on payday, and disappears a few days later. Our laissez-faire view of money can even be seen in the way that we rarely bother worrying about the difference of a few cents or dollars on costs, as it can become almost an insignificant amount in our daily lives. We are very private about our wealth, or lack thereof, as we feel that we are the ones who have worked hard for it and we are the ones who can determine how it is spent. Whether we work minimum wage jobs slinging French fries or we look down on the world from the penthouse office on the 23rd floor, we still have to do something to be able to afford the lives we have created. But what if we couldn’t get out of a cycle that we were a part of? What if controlling our finances and increasing our wealth was beyond our own limits?
The Dominican peso is about 37.5 to the Canadian dollar right now. 4000 pesos is worth about $110. In our world, $110 is a cell bill, a pair of jeans, a really good night out, a couple of new video games, a down payment on a new laptop, a Saturday afternoon at the mall, or even a tank of gas in the car. It’s not a lot, really – except if you are a teacher in a little unknown village inside the port of Puerto Plata – because 4000 pesos is what each one of those teachers make each month. For real.Each of them teaches in the morning, the afternoon – or both, for the same amount. If you break that down to a daily amount, it is around $5.50 per day. No matter where you live in the world, that is not very much for someone with that kind of responsibility.When I stand in their classrooms with different teams that come to visit, I always watch the teachers. They are so awesome. Each visit we teach them the Hokey Pokey song or some other deep and contemplative English number for the kids to have fun with. They all go nuts with laughter, but for me, the best part is watching the teachers. They join in with such passion and craziness that we can never keep a straight face watching them. And every time we walk out of that school I think about what they so willingly put out every day – because they really get it.
Would I be able to do that every day for 4000 pesos a month? Would I be able to have a vision for my life and my world if every day was a struggle to just be able to eat and stay healthy? I don’t know if I could. They amaze me. They are not perfect or even necessarily altruistic – but I realize that I can learn something from all of them. They love their jobs; they really do. They don’t have computers, a real desk or even a staff room to relax in. But they love their jobs because they love those kids, and they love what they represent. They represent the future, and to be able to be a part of that now means a lot to them. They are far more wealthy than their 4000 peso salary, because they have investments in the future that are worth more than any of us will ever understand.And lucky me: I get to sing the Hokey Pokey with them every time I go to their school.This summer we are going to be working in their community, helping to build homes and be a part of something amazing. To find out more about how you can join us, check out 
“Ok, so tell me your best life moment,” I asked the group of one hundred students sitting on the floor facing me.When I asked those words to that group of high school students I was looking forward to hearing their answers. First of all, we were in Alberta, and I half expected the one cowboy who came up to the front and said that it was when he was able to stay on the bull that he was riding for the 8 seconds. Although that is a pretty cool life moment, it was the student that followed behind him that blew me away.We were there for a full LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) Think Day, complete with workshops and assembly presentations. The school had requested that we take a different route with our workshops and we decided to split them into groups of five. In each group, we would share stories about ourselves, in an effort to break down some barriers and to connect on a whole new level. Topics were everything from your most embarrassing moment to someone in the school whom you admired, and our team each shared a story as well. It was such an amazing day and I was so thankful to be a part of it. But by far, her story was the one I will remember.
She was tiny and quiet, but her smile was infectious. She was Japanese and she was here in this small town in the middle of Alberta for her second year on an exchange program. I can’t remember her name, but I will always remember her answer to the question. She put her hand up and I invited her to centre stage. I could tell she was not used to having the spotlight.”Well, to be honest, my best life moment is very different from everyone else here.” She smiled nervously. I nodded to her to encourage her to keep talking.”Since I was as young as I can remember, I have dreamed of being able to go to school in Canada. So, standing right here and getting to know all of you is what I would say my best life moment is.”There was a stunned silence. And as if someone had given them a cue, the entire student body began to cheer and clap. As she nodded her head at them, she quickly ran back to her spot on the floor where she was sitting. As she was going back to her seat, a thought struck me and I called out to her.”Has your family been affected by the earthquake and tsunami?””Oh, yes,” she said, very matter of factly. “My family’s house was destroyed in the earthquake and they are staying with family until they can go back home.””How do you feel being in Canada while they are going through all of that?” I asked her.”My family has told me they are very proud of me and thankful that I am safe in Canada. They want me to stay here and continue to study and learn all I can about Canadian culture. We love this country.”Those of us who were born and raised in Canada and who were in that room at that moment experienced something unfamiliar. We were humbled by what we have always been in possession of but have taken for granted more times than not: opportunity.
I think that brief conversation touched a lot of lives that afternoon, and it reminded me of how blessed we are to live in a country that the world around us dreams of being a part of.There are many things wrong within our nation and there are many reasons that we could be frustrated, but there is one thing that I’m constantly reminded of: we are born in freedom and opportunity for a reason. It is our responsibility to make the most of it every day. It is tempting to want to level our gaze to what we can only see in front of us, but there is so much more to life. This life is a gift and an opportunity – let’s make the most of it.To find out more about LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute)’s high school programs or our Hero Holiday humanitarian opportunities and how you can be a part of what we do, check out 
Her body was laid to rest on February 4 in Duncan. The community came out to share their grief and honour her brief, inspiring life. A few days later, LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) was in Duncan, BC, invited to be a part of the event in Duncan called, “Take Back the Night”. Two thousand people gathered, to raise awareness and honour Tyeshia and several other girls in the Vancouver Island Aboriginal community that had been tragically murdered in recent months. There were drum circles, songs, and community spokespeople on the stage. Among those, by special invite, was Bondless, one of the bands currently on tour with LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute).
The bands that tour with us in the high schools across Canada are each passionate about why they do what they do. They are musicians with a gift to share, but they are also individuals choosing to make a difference with what they have. Bondless chose to invest in that event a year ago because they believed in the positive message that it was sending to everyone that came out: you matter. Each day we have the privilege of living our lives with the world around us. In the daily grind of what we do we can forget one very important detail about ourselves: how powerful our lives really are. Our choices, our treatment of others, our view of what we bring to the world leaves a lasting residue on those around us. Our life is but a breath in terms of time, but what we choose to do with that is what resounds long after we have been there. In some way, Tyeshia was impacted by her encounter with Bondless, and in some way, they were able to give back to her.When Bondless stood on that stage that night, they weren’t playing for the 2000 people they were looking out at. They were playing for Tyeshia, one final time.LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) road teams tour across Canada, working to create a movement of love, hope, and change. To find out more about our school assemblies and how you can get involved through our School of Leadership, check out 
Like the rest of the people in that tiny, obscure village, he is dirt poor. But he has something that few others in his situation have: transportation. It comes in the form of a horse.His horse is a far cry from a ‘trusty steed’. In fact, I would probably say it is more like a tired, anorexic mare. However you want to classify it, it is a horse, and that alone is a valuable commodity where he finds himself.He is the jefe (pronounced hay-fay) and it means he is the boss. The title is in reference to the years he oversaw the workers in the cane fields, and he still carries himself like a man who is used to being accountable for people. He rides his horse in places that are too far to walk and the animal is both transportation and freight delivery at times.He looks you in the eye when you ask him a question and he is watchful to anticipate your needs and concerns. The community respects him and his children miraculously seem to listen to him. His name is Jose-Michele and he is a good man. He is kind and truly cares about the people of Chichigua, a small Haitian community clinging to the side of a sprawling overgrown sugar cane field.
Everyone in the community seems to remember all being there together. Some of them have papers to be in Dominican Republic that were clearly issued many moons ago, long before the tension of statelessness that frustrates the country today. All those years, living and working together and all those years sharing one thing in common morning, noon and night: they used the surrounding field as a bathroom.It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? But what else are you going to do with no work, no money and barely enough food to survive? The last item on your to-do list is a proper bathroom, and even then you would probably write it off as a non-necessity. But proper sanitation means more than you or I can appreciate, because sometimes it can mean the difference between life and death.It’s pretty exciting to be a part of something so simple, yet something so profoundly impacting on a community like this. Women and children can feel a little safer, not having to trek out into the fields in the dark. Communal showers mean less transmission of diseases and the basic human right to be nice and clean. Life in general takes on a new quality, as you realize that you are worth the effort, simply because you have intrinsic value and someone cared enough to acknowledge that value.Jose-Michele has 12 kids between himself and his wife. They have grown children with kids of their own, and they have toddlers running around, playing at their feet. They have a daughter who is mentally and physically disabled, whom the community loves very much, and they have the daily challenge of survival. I asked him what they do for work and for food, and he pointed to the banana trees along the side of the field, indicating that they can always 
eat and sell them somewhere.With a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders, he said, “We always find a way to eat”.I asked him what he thought about the new toilet and shower facility being built right in front of him by 27 high school students from North Vancouver, B.C.He just smiled, nodded his head, and looked me in the eye. “I think it’s very good – for all of us.”He’s right. It is good for all of us. They needed the help and we needed to help. Life is good according to Jose-Michele and I think those of us that are a part of what happened in that tiny community have to say agree.Thank you, Chichigua, for letting us into your world; and thank you, world, for helping us get into Chichigua.This summer you can join us in Dominican Republic as we have the incredible opportunity to change the world and be changed in the process! Check out 
They perform 66% of the world’s work, earn only 10% of its income, and own only 1% of the world’s property. The girl child has been unofficially dubbed as being endangered due to infanticide, sexual exploitation and statelessness. And yet, the world not only needs women for obvious reasons, the world needs women because of the diversity, the hope and the compassion they bring.
Kru Nam’s courage and fierce passion for justice has resulted in hundreds and hundreds of children and women being freed from sexual exploitation and blinding poverty. This compassionate and courageous woman has rallied people from around the world, including LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute), to join her in a small, non-descript community in Northern Thailand that is a powerful tool against the evils of trafficking. Happy International Women’s Day, Kru Nam.
was someone to believe in them. There are so many amazing young women in our nation that it makes us in LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) hopeful that we are building something worth fighting for. Our LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) staff and our Hero Holiday program is full of young women who choose each day to be a light, a voice and tangible hope – despite what the personal costs may amount to. I have the privilege of working beside young women who have experienced everything from sexual abuse, terminal illness, violence and abuse, and innumerable personal challenges and yet they choose, each day, to continue to focus on what they can do to be a part of the solution to what they see around them. To all of you, Happy International Women’s Day.