A community space filled with our collective hopes.

What do I hope happens? Better question: what do you hope happens? Better still: what do we hope happens?

Somewhere down the road, I'd like to help create a safe space for everyone to find their voice, to share and pursue their story. This is the next step towards that dream. I don't know what the next step looks like because I need your help figuring out which direction to head.

You've seen me here writing for the past few mornings as I've been trying to build the courage and belief in this idea, and hopefully encouraging you to consider your dreams at the same time.

Where do you want to go? What do you hope happens?

Let me share a bit more about my story and see if we can find some common ground to help nurture the necessary faith to keep going.

I hope to create a community Writing Center for San Diego. I want a place where my 15-year-old self would feel at peace and allow himself to explore and share the possibilities and wildness of his dreams. And I want the same for you.

Your story and your ability to pursue and share that story matters deeply. Our collective survival and our individual peace depend on our ability to share our stories. But first, we've got to find our voice and we need time and space to do so.

Learn more about how you can help launch of this Writing Center project.

If you are a young voice and need help sharing your story and finding your voice, we are here for you.

If you are a teenager trying to find your voice and a way to express yourself that feels right, we are here for you.

If you are wondering what comes after high school and need help exploring options and understanding expectations, we are here for you.

If you are at junior college or college or focusing on a self-taught path, we want to help.

If you are focused on your career and raising a family and maybe feel like your story isn’t all yours right now, we’re here for you.

If you have raised your family and are wondering what the next transition looks like, we’re here to help you rediscover your voice and reconnect to your story.

No matter your age, race, ethnicity, status, disability, preference, skill, talent, or identity, your story matters, and our future depends on your ability to share it.

Your story doesn’t start here. But your belief in it does. Get going. Keep going.

I hope to help build a space filled with our collective hopes. The kind of space Kingsolver imagines. A space we can inhabit, a space that provides a roof and allows us to explore the patchwork of dreams and stories we are currently living and have yet to write.

So here I am asking for help: please comment on this post in LinkedIn and tell me about your hopes. Please share this post. Please share this link in your social feeds and tell your friends and family about it.

Bonus request: if you are a high school English teacher, please reach out.

And most importantly, if you need help sharing your story now, please reach out.

Together we can write our stories and help others share theirs; we can shine light on our community; we can carve out a place where potential blossoms and where creativity is currency; we can take next steps and consider what the world looks like if something like this were to happen in San Diego and beyond.