When your next meal is a question mark, \u201cdream big\u201d may not be a part of your vocabulary. But several teenagers at Father Joe\u2019s Villages now have a visual reminder of what their future could hold.<\/p>\n
In one of the buildings, stretching from the floor to the ceiling of a rec room and reaching into the hallway is a vibrant mural. The mural is a culmination of an art project called \u201cHow to Draw Your Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat visualization has a lot of power,\u201d said Ali McGraw, who taught and led the project in conjunction with the tutoring center C2 Education.<\/p>\n To go along with their mission of encouraging kids to dream big, C2 Education came to Father Joe\u2019s with the idea for the art series. They had already been working with Father Joe\u2019s teens in subject tutoring and SAT\/ACT test prep, and the Village jumped on board with this new project.<\/p>\n Deacon Jim Vargas, Father Joe\u2019s president and CEO, said that while the Village offers several supportive opportunities to its young people, this idea \u201cstood out\u201d with its unique approach to \u201cfostering positivity.\u201d<\/p>\n In the classes leading up to the mural creation, McGraw encouraged the teens to think expansively and to make their dreams as wild and huge as they could.<\/p>\n \u201cI told them \u2018you want to climb a mountain? Then draw the tallest mountain in the world \u2014 we\u2019re dreaming big,\u2019\u201d McGraw said.<\/p>\n The art class series was open to anyone in the Village who was 15-18 years old. The first two weeks started with the teens drawing individual posters and pictures to represent their dreams.<\/p>\n Then McGraw took those symbols and pictures and implemented them into one continuous mural. The drawing spreads across ceilings, window sills, doors and walls.<\/p>\n During the final week, McGraw and the teens worked together to paint the mural.<\/p>\n The rec room now contains giant representations of a wolf howling at the moon, a tattooed Minnie Mouse, kids blowing dandelions and a yin-yang dream catcher. On the walls, birds fly, an elephant trumpets and a sun sets in the desert. Intricate patterns crisscross on the ceiling.<\/p>\n The mural pulsates with life and emotion.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw how the final mural turned out, it was inspiring,\u201d Vargas said. \u201cIt\u2019s clear to me that working on this project alongside a talented local artist was a one-of-a-kind positive experience for these young people.\u201d<\/p>\n McGraw noted that in the beginning, many of the teens were really nervous, but by the completion of the project they were wholeheartedly into it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was amazing and they were awesome,\u201d McGraw gushed. \u201cI loved how much they loved the project.\u201d<\/p>\n Vargas noted the joy that came through the teens while they worked with McGraw.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw that the young people truly enjoyed reflecting on what they are passionate about and translating that into artwork,\u201d he said. \u201cThis mural project was also a fun way for these teens to exercise a new type of creativity that they don\u2019t get to practice every day.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a way for the young people to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride \u2014 a visual reminder that they were a part of something bigger than themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can look at this years down the road and think, \u2018I did something awesome,\u2019\u201d McGraw said.<\/p>\n The project is also a dream come true for McGraw. It started with a peace sign when she was just a child.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was 5, I drew a giant green peace sign on my parents\u2019 freshly painted wall,\u201d McGraw said. \u201cNeedless to say, they were less than pleased, but that was when I knew I wanted to paint every wall, everywhere. I eventually realized that I wanted to paint the world.\u201d<\/p>\n In between there was art school, the Marine Corps and civil service. When McGraw left the Marine Corps, she wanted to do work that would make her as proud of what she was doing as when she was a Marine. Part of that vision is drawing murals around the world with local kids \u2014 and helping them leave an imprint.<\/p>\n McGraw is now an art teacher at Practical Karate, a Pacific Beach martial arts studio that believes in all aspects of creative arts. She said she was in the \u201cright place at the right time\u201d to team up with C2 Education for the dream project.<\/p>\n C2 Education began its partnership with Father Joe\u2019s in March 2016. Twice a week, for two hours a day, tutors work with the teens in SAT\/ACT prep, single-subject tutoring, and college preparation, such as completing applications and applying for financial aid.<\/p>\n Since its inception, C2 noted that it has helped the Father Joe\u2019s kids increase their GPA by an average of 1.42, make drastic improvements in cognitive abilities, and consider college as a viable option.<\/p>\n For more information about C2 Education and other dream projects they\u2019ve hosted, visit c2education.com<\/a> y dreambigSD.com<\/a>. For more information about Father Joe\u2019s Villages, visit mi.vecino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/web_fatherjoes.jpg\")
![\"Drawing](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/McGraw-169x300.png\")
![\"Drawing](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_3142-1024x501.jpg\")