Youth Stories: Nehemiah of Kids Creative

NehemiahAs Nehemiah came out of the room, he seemed disgruntled. He just had braces put in the day before. So as you can imagine, at the moment talking was a bit of a sore spot.

We wanted to know more about his likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams.  Nehemiah stated that he had just shared this information with his friend Andrew and felt it was best that his friend join in on discussing how Kids Creative has given them the tools necessary to explore their passions and broaden their outlook on life.  When we said yes to having his friend join in, his face immediately lit up.

Nehemiah and Andrew met at Kids Creative, an organization that offers arts based peace education programs for Pre-K to High School age students through summer camps, after school programs and workshops. Together, Nehemiah and Andrew have learned about the 6 C’s of peacemaking in youth: Confidence, Creativity, Conflict Resolution, Community, Collaboration and Cookies through arts education programs and live music & theater events.

Nehemiah, Andrew, and Variety NY transitioned to the music room as the boys wanted to show one of their favorite reasons as to why they love Kids Creative. Music is something that they are both passionate about. The boys like coming to Kids Creative because their schools do not provide arts programming. Since music is something they love to listen to as well as make, they knew that they lacked the creative resources they needed to push them to succeed. For Nehemiah and Andrew, Kids Creative fills that void.

We kicked off the conversation with Nehemiah telling us that he is 13 and has been coming to Kids Creative for four years. Andrew is 12 and has been coming to Kids Creative for three years.  Nehemiah is the eldest of three and has two younger sisters. Andrew is an only child. While Nehemiah plays the guitar, Andrew plays the drums. They use the music that they play as a way for them to express themselves.  Nehemiah likes getting “lost” in the music when he plays as it allows for him to cope with the various elements of his life. He likes to tune out bad days by using music. Andrew is so passionate about how music impacts his life that he wants to be a professional musician. He definitely feels that he needs to play instruments. He revealed that he doesn’t have a negative compulsory feeling when he’s not playing, but rather a sense of feeling incomplete. Both boys continued to agree with one another after making comments about the importance of music in their everyday lives. Kids Creative believes that a better, more peaceful future is achievable by teaching youth the creative, critical thinking and social skills necessary to make peace within themselves and in society. It is evident that the boys have a close friendship after playing music with one another.

After spending time at Kids Creative, they have been exposed to how music and creativity can help them dream big. Nehemiah and Andrew aspire to open a clothing line together when they are older. They like to think outside the box and are excited about their fashion ideas. Their goals get bigger by the day as they now have the confidence and determination to own their own business.

We asked the two music gurus anything else they would like to share and we got these random facts: Originally Nehemiah wanted to be a soccer player, but has since decided that he does not need to pursue a traditional route to fame.  His favorite subjects are Social Studies and English/Language Arts.

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