Daily Archives: April 22, 2008

Photography, video, art, writing, music…..This is a video from a youth activist website in Australia. It’s called Stir Your World….We don’t have the resources to make an inspiring video like this, so we’ll use theirs…

Why I Love Oakland
By Ryan Robinson

It’s one thing to say that you like your town because you live there; but another to say why. Well, here are my reasons why I like Oakland and I hope you do to.

1. Great School System

The teachers are great and very nice. They are very good teachers and actually care about their students. They have great events for the kids. Field trips that bond students, Science Fair projects to enrich the mind and have some fun, and so much more!

2. Great Mayor and Council

Our current Mayor, Szabo, is very nice. Even if you are a Republican or Democrat, the decisions made in Oakland are fair, and the mayor always listens to you no matter what your party.

3. The shopping

I do not take major interest in shopping since I am a guy, but HEY! I love to see new business opportunities in town and have some friendly competition. Like the Walgreens going up!

The list could go on and on, but I think this last point is the most important.

4. The Community

Since Oakland began as a town, we have always been a nice, caring community. We still are today in the hustling, bustling world we know. We help each other snowplow our neighbor’s driveway if they are older; we pick up our neighbors’ garbage cans when the wind blows. When our neighbor’s basement floods, we help and bring over some towels. Those are just some things my family does on our BLOCK!

So, the next time you walk or ride the streets of Oakland, think of how great this community is, and especially for this Memorial Day, how great this whole country is!

We created the 3 column layout because we hope there are enough teenagers in Oakland willing to put some thoughts down to share with the rest of the community. We hope these pages will be contributor driven, with only slight editorial guidance.

The pictures are here just for show. The Oakland Journal wants this to be a space for the young people of Oakland to share their views, insights and experiences.

The Youth Editorial Alliance offers these guidelines for creating articles:
* Write using a professional style.
* Write about current events and real life.
* Make the tone appropriate to the subject of the article.
* Give other teens a voice through quotes. Use peers as sources.
* Write stories about lives of teen-agers outside of school.