Youth Corps and All-Stars…

The last few years, there have been two things that I have really wanted to do, and this summer, I have the opportunity to do both things.

The first is participating in the Youth Corps program that is organized by the AYF and has been around as long as I have been. This year is the 20th anniversary of Youth Corps, and seeing how I am also twenty, I know that this is an important year. Twenty is the age that you are at the doorstep of manhood and you need to make big decisions. I’m glad I’m going to be part of Youth Corps’ big decisions, like having a camp in Baghanis near the border of Azerbaijan and adding extra weeks to accommodate the high demand for the camps.

The second is owning and completely wrecking a pair of Converse All-Stars. These shoes have been the symbol of coolness and the sign of the all-American kid, yet I have never owned a single pair. Last week, I decided to get a pair but did not want to pay the ridicules $50 price tag that is on them. I went to Downtown and found a couple that was selling an authentic pair for $45, which I was able to bargain down to $38. I am looking forward to taking these shoes with me to Armenia and really breaking them in and testing them out.

AYF Youth Corps and Converse All-Stars are such opposites, one being selfless volunteerism in Armenia and the other a selfish compliance to constant advertisements. Even though they are very dissimilar, they make up who I am: an Armenian-American who has very strong ties with his homeland but also adapts and lives in America.

Stay tuned for pictures, videos, and more blog posts about my time with Youth Corps and how my All-Stars are holding up.

— Puzant Berberian