Hover over the black dots to meet our 2012 Global Teen Leaders

Life is filled with ups and downs. In my own case, one day I was a very healthy patient according to my blood work, but according to a biopsy, an aggressive cancer was growing. That was just over a year ago and I'm still standing.

Part of what keeps me balanced is doing charity work, which I've been doing in various forms since I was a child. I do this type of work because I was socialized that way. My mom used to always say - and I mean always, "Treat people the way you wish to be treated."

After one of my good friends was killed in the first plane that was crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, I started the We Are Family Foundation, named after the song I co-penned for Sister Sledge. Over the last decade our mission of respect, understanding, and cultural diversity has been addressed in our programs - the most ambitious of which is Three Dot Dash, a year long global-mentoring program where we help the initiatives of teenaged change-makers.

This year at our Just Peace Summit, named by our 1st WAFF honoree, 13 year old best-selling author/poet/peacemaker Mattie J.T. Stepanek, we have teens from fourteen countries and four continents.

My work with these people that we call Global Teen Leaders is one of the most rewarding things in my life. They remind me that life is a struggle and also a gift. I know this is very different from my usual blog, but if you scroll to their ThingLinks (the black dots) in the picture above you will see why I'm So Excited About Next Week.