On Monday, a Denver Post columnist wrote an article about this spring’s first-ever prom at Florence Crittenton High School for teen mothers, and the article elicited negative comments that so upset me that at first I was at a loss for words. I’ve been working on a project involving the school’s first-ever leadership class, and that class has turned the prom into a hands-on leadership project. Those who complain about the prom say it’s a reward for bad behavior. What they may not know is that this prom is also a practical training program in goal-setting, planning, and execution. It’s teaching this class the very accountability the naysayers complain they don’t have.

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I recently answered a question on the Soul Pancake blog that hit at the heart of a subject I ponder often. The question was, “What question do you hate the most?”

“What are you?” I’ve answered this question a lot throughout my life.

In part, my answer was: “What are you?” I both love and hate this question. It often depends on the tone and the context. I have an ethnically-mixed background, and I’ve answered this question a lot throughout my life…

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I’ve recently become a fan of the Mortal Muses, nine exceptional female photographers from the USA, Canada, and Europe. Their blog offers instant inspiration via daily postings of beautiful, moving, and amusing photos. Today they’ve invited me to answer the question: What Inspires You? My answer is a post that considers where inspiration comes from when I don’t feel inspired. Please visit the Mortal Muses blog and leave a comment on my guest post for your chance to win a signed copy of my book, They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away. (If you’d rather guarantee yourself a book, you can order one now at Ghost Road Press.)

My friend and fellow-blogger, Rebecca Elia, has asked her followers a good question: “How does your fun little girl self show up in your life now?” Check out my answer at her blog: Feminine Revelations. I hope it prompts you to think of your own answer to the question, and maybe inspires you to play a little more in all you do.

Last week, I shared with you the first half of my two-part short film: Homes Within, Communities Without, sponsored by PlatteForum and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. If you haven’t seen part one, I hope you’ll give it a look, because I believe that somewhere between these two digital stories a third, unspoken story lies. In Audrey Haynes’ story, she shared how living on the streets has changed her ideas about community. For Audrey, community goes wherever she goes. For me, community begins at home. But it wasn’t always that way, and my story doesn’t end there.

You’ll find my video below. After you watch, I hope you’ll share your thoughts. What is the connection between home and community? What separates us all, and what connects us? What is community to you?

Homes Within, Communities Without: Cara from Cara Lopez Lee on Vimeo.

This month, every morning when I wake to the pounding, clattering, and growling of machinery and men building the new house two doors down, I’ll stare at my spinning ceiling fan and ask myself, “What is my community?” July 1st, was the first day of my writing residency for the Biennial of the Americas, with PlatteForum and the Lighthouse Writers Workshop. My project is called “Homes Within, Communities Without.” I’m creating two digital video stories: one in which I explore how I experience community, and another in which a young, recently homeless woman explores how she experiences community.

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