Universal Design: Tax Incentives

If you live with a physical limitation, you have added expenses that are rather obvious: maybe a specialized car, home, appliances, electronics, etc. You pretty much know that if you are relocating, the home you choose will require expensive modifications just so you can move in - we’re not even talking about decorating!

If you are able-bodied, do you have such added expenses? The obvious answer is no. You relocate, move in and start decorating - no remodeling the bathroom just to take a shower. The less obvious answer is, yes. How much disability adds to your expenses varies depending on what you include. Your taxes have about $300 billion to support those who would work but can’t because work isn’t accessible! If those people were in the workforce, they would be contributing about $200 billion in tax revenue. Where do you feel this invisible but real financial pinch? It’s in your payroll taxes - the ones your employer deals with, the one that’s a disincentive for new business and innovation.

What does reversing the tax pinch look like? Rather than having the expense show up as a disincentive, lets have it show up as an incentive:

• Building universal design homes gets tax credits based on specific features (a universal design bathroom gets $500 credit; an elevator gets $1000; and so on). Presently Virginia's Department of Housing and Community Development offers a $500 tax credit.
• If remodeling your home because you have to accommodate a new disability and would otherwise have to leave your home, make it a medically tax deductable.
• Provide intelligently designed increases in disability tax credits. If you’re the one forced to pay for home modifications, sweeten the deal because when you are done, you’ll have added to the real estate market a soon to be much needed commodity, universal design housing.
• Building departments typically burden the process of granting permits; in addition to tax incentives, a universal design application could get priority status. Building departments could find other means to encourage universal design housing such as fewer restrictions; for example, allowing smaller lot sizes.
• Do you have a school tax? Create a tax incentive by lowering the school tax if a home is built or modified to meet universal design standards. Typically the occupants will be empty nesters thereby adding to any lost tax revenue.

Compared to government mandates, tax incentives keep us, the individuals who are the soul of this great country in the driver’s seat. We make the choice, and, that what universal design is about, having choice.

Konrad Kaletsch
January 31, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: Emily Post for Buildings

Laura Claridge has just published a biography on Emily Post. To the delight of fans, Emily Post was quite the woman living in quite the time. To her detractors, Emily Post is still no more than an arbiter of manners including the extended pinky finger while quietly sipping tea.

It was in 1922 that Emily Post wrote her famous guide to social etiquette. Some people now perceive it as an obsolete set of behavioral rules for people in high society. However, this interpretation misses its theme: the promotion of core values like consideration, thoughtfulness, and kindness. It is also misses the personal benefits of good manners, which include confidence, self-respect, and an instinctual feeling that one is doing the right thing. Following an outward set of behavioral rules enables us to fulfill our inward human need of belonging and being a member of a society. What has changed since Post first published her guidebook is the prescribed behavior. What hasn’t changed are the fundamental core values behind the manners.

Whereas etiquette provides guidelines for person-to-person, universal design provides guidelines for the environments we occupy and the tools we use; it is environment-to-person (or to product). No longer will building just be about shelter, function or good looks. Universal design brings etiquette to how your home is crafted. A home or community that applies these guidelines is one that is inviting and welcoming to all; it is a well-mannered house. It is a house that fulfills that need of human belonging. No longer is one shut out because an “ignorant” building unfairly impedes entry due to a limitation in physical ability.

Konrad Kaletsch
January 22, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: Malia & Sasha Obama

Malia and Sasha Obama are in the White House (almost) and one of the places they will be making friends is in the kitchen. There will be no shortage of staff ready to serve up a hot coco and a fresh baked cookie. And, much to their delight, there won’t be any shopping, prepping, cooking or cleaning. That certainly would be a dream for me!

Kids in the kitchen benefit from universal design as much as those managing physical limitations due to age and disability. Attention turns to what is necessary so that they can function in the kitchen as successfully as adults. These days kids are more autonomous and many not only satisfy their hunger in the kitchen, they fulfill a share of the family chores.

One first considers safety. For an older adult, diminishing strength alters the landscape of what is possible; for a child it is the increase in strength, height and ambition. Cooking as novices brings risks of burns. Controls on the front of a stove reduce reaching over or around hot pots. Visual indicators tell a child if a burner is on or still hot.

Another consideration is the flow of traffic - both theirs and yours. They need a snack while you are cooking; if snacks are near the stove, a collision is inevitable. Put things in easy to reach locations according to task or need. In this case, keep kids away from busy work-stations especially the stove and oven. If you have a breakfast nook, make that the kid’s area. Not only is the table height better suited to their stature, they will have a nice place in the kitchen to do their thing and be out of your way. This might include helping you with food prep, snacking, homework, or messy arts and crafts.

Finally, consider having a footstool. Clever designs are on wheels allowing easy maneuverability with the push of a toe but which become a stationary once stood on. These give the kids the extra height to work safely, help you reach higher storage areas, and provide a footrest while working in a standing position.

For more kitchen tips, go to Universal Design Resource. While there, please take a few minutes to complete the survey.

Konrad Kaletsch
January 16, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: The Future

Survey: Making UDR Better

Read 100 books on future trends and two themes emerge: China once again becomes the dominant power (weren’t they always except for the last few centuries); and, Web 2.0 will change everything. So, wouldn’t you buy stock in a social networking company based in China?

Our bias in life favors the rear view mirror and makes it much larger than the windshield we use to peer at the road ahead. Looking back, with all its nostalgic overtones, certainly feels more predictable and assuring. But the reality is that the windshield is much bigger than the mirror, as it should be, if we are to make strategic and successful choices for our future. Universal Design Resource, seated in the driver’s seat, peers eagerly at the road ahead. On the passenger seat lies an open map. On it, a red line indicates the planned route. But, a few mysteries along the way mean stopping and asking strangers for help (I hope you appreciate the old-school travel metaphor).

As Universal Design Resource embarks on a major revision, some things are mapped and others are stops where we ask for directions. Presently, we have a survey posted and are asking you to help a stranger. Your few minutes will be a great contribution to Universal Design Resource reaching a destination that serves you better in the near future. Please follow this link to an anonymous 10 question survey (as a bonus, you’ll discover a great company, SurveyMonkey).

Survey: Making UDR Better

Thanks in advance for your generosity and neighborlyness.


Konrad Kaletsch
January 8, 2009
http://www.universaldesignresource.com/

Universal Design: Obama And Sultey

In our nation, there is much relief and hope with the coming Obama administration. I like seeing him speak, I look forward to his words, and I am excited about his choices. He seems personable and genuinely caring.

On December 10 he announced members chosen to be on his green team. I watched the press conference and saw something unusual as a result of a rare camera angle. When it was Nancy Sutley’s turn at the podium the camera shot switched from the rear of the room to the side of the stage. I watched as President Elect Obama moved forward and using his foot, pushed a stepping stool into position for her. The gesture was personal; they shared a glance that was endearing and which acknowledged and appreciated the caring and the forethought. Seen from the back of the room, as in most network coverage, one saw little more than an odd smile.

With these extra inches to stand on, she presented her speech in no way marginalized by her shorter physical stature. Without these extra inches, she would barely peer over the podium, or, would have stood to its side, an action that would have unfairly singled her out from the other speakers.

I myself am very tall. This is seen in our culture as an asset. Politicians sometimes win and loose an election based on having added height. Short is never an advantage. In universal design, short or tall is affects usability, however, as seen in this example, one appreciates a different focus: height impacts perceptions of capability, tall is better, bolder and more powerful. This adaptation in the press conference leveled the playing field and gave us the opportunity see the people more clearly for their achievements and ambitions, not a physical attribute.

The application of universal design is ever evolving. In this example, a one-size-fits-all approach to design, the podium, heightens our perception of differences. A person can be marginalized not only by an environmental barrier to performing a given task but by how they are perceived in a given environment. Environment can enhance our perception of a person or diminish it (think Alice In Wonderland). Environments that strive to support equal perception of the people who function in them would be yet another evolution of universal design.


Konrad Kaletsch
Universal Design Resource
December 19, 2008

Tour Watch

Universal Design: You Are The Expert

Let me ask an expert…

We attribute expertise to one who has extensive training and experience. It is someone with comprehensive and authoritative knowledge. They have skills gained from years of practice. We defer to them for answers and guidance.

When it comes to universal design, the definition of expert applies to you; you are the expert. Routines repeated around your home over many years have bestowed you with these credentials. What takes you beyond the beyond is a depth of individualized research and a profound familiarity with your subject, you. You’ve been adjusting your environment to work as best as it can; there is hardly another expert out there that knows more than you. How is it that you became this expert?

You unknowingly became an expert by the very attributes that make you unique. What works for you doesn’t always work for someone else. Someone with great physical strength uses force; genius uses intelligence. What emerges is that the variety of human ability is infinite. It is variety that is normal, not some standard that there is a normal. Let’s start with 1000 people and sort out who is normal: If our first filter is average height, we quickly reduce the number of “normal” people in our survey down to a few hundred. Our next filter, average weight, reduces our “normal” people further. Let’s have one more filter, age. Now we have a handful of people that constitute normal based on just three filters! If we build for this “normal” person we are in fact building for a very few people leaving the other 900 to bend lower, reach higher, and in other ways force their bodies to work in ways that don’t feel normal (a few won’t be able function at all).

A normal person doesn’t really exist yet we design as if they do. Primary work stations such as kitchens still have a one size-fits-all approach. This leaves many unable to use parts because they are too high, too low, too dark, too heavy, etc. You adapt your kitchen as best as possible to work for you.

If we shift the focus from an expert over there to the expert in you, your contribution matters greatly, yet, there is no place for your experience to be recorded; there is no place where you and other experts can collectively design a better kitchen. Until that opportunity exists, some guy in front of a computer fishing for statistics will design for a “normal” person hoping to sell as many products as possible at the lowest cost.

Universal Design Resource is developing a new web experience where your collective knowledge is brought into forums, discussions and blogs where the best solutions can emerge and guide those that design and fabricate our products and environments. Our launch is in early 2009.

Konrad Kaletsch
November 19, 2008

Universal Design: AARP's Life@50+

I would like to say that a conspiracy took place – at least there’s intention and action in a conspiracy.

At this year AARP Life@50+ annual convention in Washington DC, twenty-five thousand attendees left knowing as much about universal design as when they walked in (nearly none). I really doubt that this was AARP’s intention; perhaps, in all the excitement of pushing product and keeping the 50+ crowd entertained, it just was overlooked.

After walking miles of convention floor for endless hours, I was amazed by the complete absence of universal design as knowledge. There are a number of advocacy organizations, but none had a booth. Not the Center for Universal Design at NCSU, not Adaptive Environments from Boston, not TRACE from Wisconsin, not Universal Design Alliance, not IDEA at SUNY Buffalo, not Concrete Change, not the National Aging in Place Council, not the National Association of Home Builders and their CAPS (Certified Aging in Place) program nor the National Council on Independent Living, and, none of the manufactures or retailers who are committed to universal design such as Toyota, Lowes, Toto, Humanscale, or General Electric. Nothing. Not even a handout.

Here’s what could be at Vegas@50+ next year: Let’s start with a Universal Design Pavilion (pavilions is how AARP clusters exhibitors by theme). The intention is that all attendees leave knowing at least enough about universal design to acquire it when they want it. This would be supported by handouts, including one in the bag you get when you register, strong visual presence at the UD pavilion itself, interactive displays, additional resources and handouts, workshops, membership drives among the advocacy groups, surveys (data mining to further understand what it takes to create universal design communities), and opportunities for manufacturers to display their commitment to products that support the independent lifestyle that you love. In addition, it would be great to see a celebrity personality give universal design a bit of pizzazz, some wow-ness.

At the core of this endeavor would be Universal Design Resource, and its president, Konrad Kaletsch, providing the leadership necessary for the fulfillment of this expanded awareness. It is easy to imagine the 75,000 attendees, now knowledgable about universal design, telling friends over the following year. If they each have 14 conversations about universal design, one million lives improve as a result. Pretty neat.

Universal Design: The Missing Keyword

There are times in life when we need certain answers. We have many methods for getting those answers suited to who we are as individuals. We contact friends, we search the internet, we go to bookstores, etc. What will thwart our searching, no matter how thorough our technique, is when the answer we seek is hidden. I’m not talking about an answer that hasn’t been invented; I’m talking about answers that are there and would help you move forward. They are the answers to problems that others struggled over and mastered. They are answers that have been tested and refined. It is accumulated knowledge, but you can’t even stumble upon it! And so, with some frustration, you “reinvent the wheel” clumsily moving forward and making all the same mistakes each person made before you.

In many cases, the missing answer is contained in a keyword that, like the key to a castle, unlocks and reveals the kingdom: no keyword, no access, no info … nothing. Universal design is an excellent example a missing keyword. As an advocate of universal design, there is hardly a conversation where the person I am speaking with knows the term or the knowledge it represents. Without much explanation, they quickly understand it, and for the rest of their lives have at their disposal the key to that kingdom.

As an advocate for universal design, I do not demand that you adopt it; you will choose what is right for you. However, I want you to have that key; I want it there for you when you need it; I want you to be able to move with ease and velocity when the need arises. I want you to have the answers that have been developed over thirty years by some outstanding people committed to your life being as great as it can be. I want you to enjoy your independence and to have a life of ongoing opportunity.

You are a key holder as you have found and are reading this blog. My request is that you pause and think about ten people in your life who do not have this key and for whom having this key would make a difference. Contact them, now. Maybe they are your parents or your parent’s friends; maybe your architect or builder; or, maybe your political representative. Tell them about universal design and where to look for answers; Google the keyword, “universal design” or start at my website, http://www.universaldesignresource.com/. Give ten people the key and spare them the frustrations of fruitless searching.

Universal Design: Let Your Home Work For You

Decreasing the time spent taking care of your home and increasing the time your home takes care of you.

According to a survey conducted by the AARP, 89 percent of people older than 50 wish to remain at home, rather than move to other housing options. The question not being asked is how do you make this possible? At what point does your home hinder you rather than serve you?

I’m a home improvement nut. My idea of exercise is digging a 20' trench and installing an 8” culvert … by hand. At 46, I can pull that off. At 56? Probably (add a chiropractic adjustment). At 66? I doubt it. Even I will one day be overwhelmed by my home (never, I say). But, between now and then, I can do things that will reduce or prevent that day. This culvert is such an improvement; my annual driveway maintenance will decrease: less washouts, fewer repairs, easier plowing, smoother and safer driving.

As you contemplate improvements in a home that you plan to stay in, ask yourself these questions: Will the improvement I am about to make be one that will last for years to come? How soon will it need to be maintained, repaired or replaced? Is there a better solution? If I spend less, have I spent wisely? Or, has cost-cutting provided short-term gains only to leave me with a costly expense in the future?

Consider this wisdom, “Decisions made in haste are regretted in leisure.”

Here is a short list of home improvements that reduce maintenance. Add to this list as you renovate through Internet searches and conversations with experienced professionals.

• Favor no-maintenance siding on your house such as vinyl, or more environmentally sound, brick or stone. Choose long lasting roofing.
• Favor surfaces and designs that clean easily.
• Favor furniture over built-in. For example, a hallway wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair might look awkward especially if the rest of the home doesn’t have a spacious feel, so, install a bookcase that can be one day easily removed.
• Apply universal design as much as possible.
• Throw stuff out – give up attachment to the things that have no more meaning in your life; gain freedom and clarity in the process for something new.
• If moving, choose a neighborhood that has supplies, services and activities nearby, and one that has useful public transportation.
• Keep choosing access and convenience – if something is going to be difficult to use, don’t get it.
  

Being motivated by the fear of loosing independence, or a vision of ongoing independence is useful. Grab the impulse (the visioning one feels better) and run with it. You’ll be happy to be one of the people who says, “ I’m glad I did it that way; I'm secure, comfortable and live a great life.”

Konrad Kaletsch © 2008, Universal Design Resource, June 30, 2008

Universal Design: Consciousness Precedes Form

Being green has been around for a long time. However, in the last year a tipping point was reached and green is now visible everywhere. Governments are doing it, business is doing it, schools are teaching it, and even the “bad” guys, such as the petroleum industry, are dabbling with it. We are still on our way to the tipping point for universal design.

Much like being green, the tipping point is reached once we recognize that the box we are living in is just too small. Like any box, it’s fit is limited both by space and time. As our natural state is growth, the logical evolution is that at some point we need a bigger box, just like a hermit needs bigger shell. In the field of universal design, we are just beginning to feel the limits of an outdated box, yet, we’re not aware of the limits that we have outgrown; we just feel the pinch.

The typical behavior of living inside a box that has grown too small is to look for answers inside the box. It’s absurd, but it’s what we do. The irony is that the answer to expanding the box is outside the box. The other paradox is that from inside the box we can’t see outside the box. This experience is frustrating and the first results show up as conflict. Without a method or trick, the state of conflict grows until we experience is as a pain so great we collapse in defeat and surrender to the change.

The good news is that there is a trick/method for accessing expansion, and, it’s ridiculously simple: ask a guiding question. If we want to kick the petroleum habit, an outgrown and limiting box, we could ask, “How are we gonna live well without petroleum?” That’s not a good question and perhaps you can see why, it’s still inside the box! Here’s the good and guiding question: “What would life on this planet look like if our energy needs were met through healthy and safe means?” You can answer that question, can’t you? The answer feels pretty good doesn’t it? You can even see an action to take. The box just got bigger, didn’t it?

The technique is based upon preceding the form with consciousness. The access to consciousness is through expansive questioning. The answer shows up through insight. A garnish of patience adds ease to the process. Frustration and conflict can’t and don’t exist in this environment; wisdom, creativity and genius do. One beckons the consciousness, which is then answered with form.

Here are some universal design questions:

• What is possible for us all when we live in an inclusive and human centered society?
• What are the gifts I have that would contribute to those less able-bodied?
• How can I manifest this higher vibration of a society that leaves no one behind?
• What does design look like that profoundly supports our sense of joy, independence, security, confidence and comfort?
• What lifestyle is possible for me if I have taken steps to include universal design in my life?

Konrad Kaletsch © 2008, Universal Design Resource, June 20, 2008

Universal Design: 10-Minute Improvements

“I did not know that!” There are many steps one takes toward becoming a universal design environment and many are as simple as a trip to the store or a few simple changes in the home. Many are common-sense improvements which contribute to your home working with greater ease.

• Increase light output by using highest wattage bulb allowed by manufacturer; have two-bulb fixtures as often as possible and you will still have light even when one bulb burns out.
• Create a place where you can sit comfortably and have everything within reach including ample light, phone, TV and remote, radio/music, computer, tissues, wastebasket, beverage & snacks, reading & writing materials, and medications.
  
• Install more phones especially bathroom and next to bed; look for large illuminated text screens.
  
• Consider removing upper cabinet doors in the kitchen (maybe lower ones too) and remove doors where ease of access would become an advantage (closet).
• Add night lights for dark rooms and hallways.
• Add non-slip stickers to slippery areas such as outdoor steps, bathtub, shower and even slippery indoor floors (non-slip mats are good too).
• Reorganize stuff: put the frequently used items within easy access (lower closet bar); remove that which is no longer used.
• Replace items that are hard to use with ones that are easy to use; Oxo products, such as GoodGrips, update many common kitchen utensils with bigger handles, smarter design and lower strength requirements.
  
• If the bathroom mirror is poorly positioned, add a second adjustable mirror.
• Raise the toilet seat with a raiser attachment; install a grab bar (the toilet paper holder isn't a grab bar).
• Journal! Collect additional tips, resources, photographs and contacts. Use the journal to ask and answer, “What is the modification that would improve/restore livability?” Record the improvements you would like to make, why they seem to address the problem, and, what you see as the problem. This is a journal you might keep for years until the big day when you renovate, relocate or build a new home.
• Improve your computer work station: adjustable chair with armrests, raised monitor, glare-free lighting, straight posture, feet flat on floor, forearms sloping slightly down to the keyboard (laptops are pretty much a disaster for your body).
• Remove hazardous throw-rugs that are easily tripped on. If keeping throw-rugs; use double-sided carpet tape to hold them in place.
• Tidy-up other trip hazards such as extension cords.
  
• For round doorknobs that are hard to use, switch to or add a lever handle that fits over the existing round one; replace knobs that are hard to grab with handles that you could open with a closed fist.
  
• For dark cabinets, purchase an easy-to-install battery operated light.
• Acquire a wheeled cart to move stuff about.
• Keep making new friends!
  

Universal Design: More than Your House

Another area of self evaluation will be your economic forecast. Most simply, will there be enough financial resources for you to live the way you wish to live? Managing your assets always mattered, however, the retirement model you grew up with has little remaining practical value. To retire at age 65 and to have a nice life for the next 20 years requires a crazy amount of money – think millions (you might have less than $50,000.00 cash). Or, you’ll considerably scale back your lifestyle (about 60%). Neither are reasoned actions. When this retirement model was created, lifespan was 65; death and retirement happened about the same time. To survive a 20 year vacation, one needs a new model.

The old model was a rugged three-legged stool: savings/assets, social security and pension fund. Social security has not kept pace with inflation and will likely provide less as the wage earners that support it decrease and the dependents increase. Employers are moving out of pension savings to reduce expenses and compete in a global market. Statistically your savings have dropped. So what does a new model financial picture look like? It has four legs: savings/assets, post-retirement job, investments, and your own past contribution to a retirement plan such as an IRA. This is a productive aging society model. Universal design becomes essential for this model to thrive as it acknowledges and prepares for an older workforce.

Universal Design: Try Before You Buy

You’re a construction worker, single and moving into a new rental apartment. Unknown to you it has been updated applying universal design. Not a bad place. Bigger bathroom, wider doors and hallways, everything is easier to reach. Different, but good. Then one day, oops, hernia. Back home after the hospital, whew, this apartment is really great! It’s making life easy as you recover, especially when coughing by itself is a chore, never mind having to manage the rest of day-to-day living. You later discover the apartment owner had renovated the apartment for his father and learn about universal design; forever you will include it in your life – it made that much of a difference.

Without having a hernia, how can you appreciate universal design? Here are a few games to try that take away some degree of mobility and foster an appreciation for designs that accommodate your changing condition:

1. Tired legs: Add about 5-10 pounds to each leg – ideally use an ankle cuff weight and wear as much as possible. Discover the extra effort needed just to walk. Looking for elevators and benches now?
2. Car-less: Leave the car at home for one week. Who’s driving you around? How convenient is public transportation?
3. Arthritis: Invent ways to mimic the loss of grip with your hand or loss of mobility. Use medical tape to restrict your thumb or finger’s movement. Wear an undersized jacket from the thrift store and move without ripping the shoulder seams.
4. Vision Impairments: Be responsible and safe with this one. Wear an eye patch and notice diminished depth of field. Wear sunglasses throughout the day and into the evening. How much more light is enough? To a pair of eyeglasses, (use non-prescription if you don’t have eyeglasses), smear a thin film of soap. Can you dial a phone number?
   

As you visit places, think about your mobility as if some aspect of your body was less than able. Remember that time when you had crutches. Or, observe how others are getting about. I see moms with strollers navigating the NYC subway – it’s a two-person operation and they struggle when on their own. Have fun; explore.

Universal Design: Am I Too Overwhelmed?

Yes I am overwhelmed! Being overwhelmed is normal and everyone agrees. However, overwhelm doesn’t have to be an unchallenged way of life. Overwhelm is the condition of being a victim, only in this case the perp isn’t some guy with a mask and a gun, it’s the job, the bills, the inbox, the kids, the home and every other circumstance that wants to rob you of you.

The first and only step out of being a victim is taking 100% responsibility for your life – you did it, all of it. Nobody did anything to you not even some deity, be it good or evil. Once assumed, no longer do things happen to you, you are allowing them to happen, sometimes through ignorance, and are responsible for their happening. Wow. That’s good news – back in the driver’s seat! Phew.

If I am the driver, and right now I seem to be driving myself crazy with stress, where in fact would I actually want to go? If I look down the road I’m on I see sickness, upset, anger, fear, frustration and disease. Desirable destination? NO! But I can’t see any options either – no side roads, no U-turns. If I am taking this journey off the road called Overwhelm, I’m gonna need help. I’ll need a map, some friends and a few new ways of doing business. Wow. I’m not sure how, but, this is gonna work!

Fast forward to some time later: You’re the master of your life just from this simple shift to being responsible. You don’t complain anymore. Being 100% responsible handled overwhelm and is handling other areas too such as finance. You are as engaged in life as before, but the experience is one of play, joy and passion. Life no longer occurs as a series of crisis that blindside you; it’s not like driving through the fog. The destination, though far off, is now clear and intentional.

Now can I look at universal design? Yes. I can see that it’s a bit like insurance – not a lot of fun, but something that gets handled. It’s now part of my master plan as much as finances, fitness, a sense of community, my emotional stability and my growing ability to care for others. I am creating my future; it is mine to create; and, it will indeed be good.