It started with sushi, rice pudding, and a couple high school students. The high school students as in “Ignite” youth group from Our Saviors Lutheran and Gethsemane Lutheran churches had an idea. An idea that maybe we could bring a little diversity to the range. And I don’t mean a little raw fish was the “diversity” we wanted to show these kids. We wanted to show them that even though we live in Virginia, Minnesota there is so many other places to see in the world so many things you can learn about.

We started with food and that was easy enough, we each researched the countries we wanted to represent and found foods like rice pudding from Finland, Sushi from the Philippines, tacos from Mexico, sauerkraut and polish from Germany, spicy chicken and fried zucchini from Korea, and cookies from Chile were some of the things we found and made for the food. And then we found games and popular music from some of those countries for the kids to play or listen to. But what came next, what set us apart from the kids in

The 2011 Field of Screams Haunted Tours had another super successful year and Iron Range Youth In Action (IRYA) along with many other volunteer organizations was fortunate enough to be able to help in the success. As a volunteer myself this year, I was able to help people have a great experience while having a little fun myself scaring people.

“Most people dont expect you to understand what were going to tell you. And even if you understand, they dont expect you to care. And even if you care, they dont expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they dont expect it to last. We do.” Brett Harris stands on the stage looking out into the crowd. “…Were Rebelutionaries. We do hard things.”

Hold up: you need some background here.

About a year and a half ago, I read a book. Not just any book, mind you, a book that changed my life and my thinking. It affects my everyday choices. This book was Do Hard Things, a book by 18-year-old twins from Oregon. They had started their blog, The Rebelution, when they were 16. The blog’s title is a word that, “obviously- we made up”, according to the authors. It’s a combination of ‘rebel’ and ‘revolution’. This is fitting, being that the motto is “a teenage rebellion against low expectations.”

I have been following this growing movement ever since I finished the book, and finally I was able to attend a conference run by the twins, who are now 22. So, my mom, my brother, and I took a very long road trip to Indianapolis.

So what exactly does ‘rebelling against low expectations’ mean? Well, as I’m sure you have noticed, teens today who stand out as ‘good kids’, ‘role models’, or even ‘leaders’ are recognized because of our lack of doing things. We don’t do drugs, don’t have sex, don’t vandalize, and don’t cheat on tests, blah blah blah. The point is we’re not DOING anything!

I’m a Christian, and I know Christians get a bad rep for being hypocrites. The Do Hard Things movement was started by Christians, but it’s impossible to be a hypocrite if you are challenging yourself and constantly growing, Christian or not. There is always something harder to do.

1,000 people showed up for this event, including 150 in the overflow rooms. The first session started at 9:00 am; the conference ended at 5:00 pm. Four jam-packed sessions of intelligent, energetic, and humorous speaking was done by the Harris brothers. Session one was on The Myth of Adolescence; Session two on having a Do Hard Things mentality; Session

This summer I had the opportunity to travel to the Central American country of Honduras. Hondurans experience ordeals that we as Americans will probably never go through. During this recession we may think our economy is bad (which it is) but currently in Honduras 50% of people live below the poverty line and 27.5% are unemployed. This makes Honduras the 6th poorest country in Latin America. Those numbers seem sky-high compared to the United States current statistics. We have so much compared to the majority of the world and too often we take it all for granted.

The simple things in life that we have available to us everyday most people in the world do without. A hot clean shower, a nice warm bed, a stable roof over our heads they are available everyday but often we neglect to remember that they are indeed a luxury.

On a previous trip to Honduras we visited one of the poorest neighborhoods in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. What I saw changed my perspective on life forever. Wooden shacks being held together with miscellaneous scraps of items from the city dump lined the muddy road where little children played with whatever they could find. Scrawny dogs, cats and other animals such as chickens scrambled amongst the people walking down the road. One would think these people after so much misery would wear hard looks of sadness. It was completely opposite. Their

Blisters are temporary a cure is forever. At the end of August I was a part of an amazing journey. There were 2500 people walking 60 miles in 3 days to find a cure for breast cancer. We raised over 5 million dollars to find a cure!

The Susan G. Komen 3 day walk for a cure was started by a sister who promised her dying sister that she would do whatever it takes to find a cure for breast cancer. That promise became The Susan G. Komen walk in 1982 and launched the global breast cancer movement. Susan G. Komen is the world’s largest network of survivors and activists fighting for a cure so that no woman or man will have to go through the pain of having breast cancer again. With events like Komen race for a cure and the 3 day walk the organization has raised over 1.9 billion dollars to fulfill her promise to her sister.

On Friday August 19 at 6 in the morning, 2500 people all meet at South Dale mall in Edina Minnesota. We were all there for the same reason to walk 60 miles in 3 days to find a cure for breast cancer. Our adrenaline was pumping and we were ready to start this journey. The first day we walked 19.7 miles stopping every couple of miles to refuel with snacks, fill up our water bottle, and use the porta