Just Keep Swimming

So I’m here in Kansas (but still working on some upcoming designs) and WOW….its an interesting place to be and what is amazing has been the Dory’s I have found..or rather have found me At times I feel as my focus, like Marlin’s mask, gets dropped and of course discouragement and blame comes over me ;( and its at these moments that we have to decide..”Do we swim into the darkness of despair and retrieve our dream or do we cry, blame others and give up?” Pursuing what you love the most isn’t always the easiest path to take but it must be the path we take..(does that make sense) It is on this path in which we will find our authentic and true self…keep swimming just keep swimming…for I truly believe that the fulfillment of our dream awaits our arrival…

Finding Nemo

So like Marlin (Nemo’s Dad in the movie), my story begins, how it ends…well the rest is yet unwritten…but now purposefully holding my pen, I know, on this journey called LIFE, the writing will be exciting. Of course my insecurities, fears stubborness and ways, like those of Marlin, contributed to this chapter in both the life of my son and mine…BUT this acknowledgement of our weaknesses should be brief. What we must do NOW to be who we are meant to be must take place immediately…right NOW…Let the tears come, let us breathe deeply and find rest…for we are on a journey in which many have gone before us…..In this transformation of who we are, we are not alone, or crazy, or having a nervous breakdown…instead our hearts are at work with our mind and our inner soul is awake….I cross the open ocean in search of my son and in the journey I know I will awaken to who I truly am…thats what UNWRITTEN is truly all about…it is about embarking on a journey in which it is ourselves we are helping and ourselves that we are healing…..in turn we indirectly help those around us, our children and our loved ones become who they are meant to be….so we swim and we swim ;) 

First Block Party

Hello Everybody. Thanks a ton for coming out, it was wonderful. I saw many familiar faces and some new ones. D.J. Chagolla, thank you so much! Houston Finest Poets – Morgan and Bro. Ced..they were simply amazing and inspirational…Thank you! The audience loved you all and like one of my friends stated “their words filled my son and I with new hope.” I thank Victoria for providing the place for this wonderful event to take place….THANK YOU Ms. Victoria Once again I thank everyone for their support and I look forward to enjoying this new journey in life with each and every one of you and with all those who hold dear the idea that “No matter how your yesterday is read, the rest of your story is unwritten.” I can’t wait till the next event and for the fun we will have…we love you all. Enjoy the slideshow

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The Kickoff

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And so we begin our “Cereal” Conversations 2010 Kickoff Believe it or not, the conversations that have taken place have been both insightful and inspiring. And OMG as we talked I wondered if I thought about the things they chose to speak about…and No, they weren’t bad on the other hand they were both profound and thought provoking. During our conversation, I have to admit, I caught a glimpse of the future in their eyes and a glimpse into the stories they are writing amongst their personal struggles and accomplishments….they are simply amazing and a gift the world has yet to see. What is so much more amazing is that all this beauty occurred over a simple bowl of our favorite cereal…truly amazing. Please join us in sharing your experiences and pics….and remember that no matter how your yesterday is read, the rest of your story is yet unwritten. We can’t wait to hear from you all.

Fun “Cereal” Conversations (Week of Sept. 20th)

Memories

The Original Corn FLakes (lol)

What a beautiful idea!!

Go out and start a new page

As I stood in the cereal aisle last night, I was flooded with memories of my childhood and of course….cereal and I loved each of those memories. As kids, especially we who were born in the 70′s ate a whole lot of cereal and I’m pretty sure we all had a favorite one. And let’s not talk about how we used to drive our moms nuts over the toys found in each box.  I remember moving here from Puerto Rico and one of our 1st cereal that we had here was, and allow me to preface this by saying I could never handle this cereal unless it had 3 tablespoon of sugar in it…. were the Original Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.  Yes, the sugarless one which I heard are better for making oven “fried” chicken. Pretty soon we “upgraded” to Frosted Flakes, which I still added sugar to and mmmmm that sugary end milk was fantastic…mmmm.  We loved cereal so much I remember being 9 years old running to school with my brother and friends just to make sure  our favorite cereal was available. My little brother was so in love with his cereal that at one time he ate half of his bowl before he noticed that the milk he used was completely spoiled. What did he do while we died of laughter? Well he used it as an opportunity to ask for seconds and enjoy another bowl of his favorite cereal.  Above all what I remember the best was the conversations my brother, sisters and I used to have sitting around the kitchen table eating our favorite cereal. Those moments are so precious and unforgettable and are moments  I so dearly desire to have with my son and nephew.  So I thought why not start these moments with my son and nephew? (Though my son is still too young to eat grown up cereal, I can’t wait till our first bowl of cereal together) So my nephew and I  began sharing with each other our favorite cereal and just talking about life and creating wonderful memories. During one of our moments we had another thought….”Wouldn’t it be great if our friends did this and if we could have like a “National Cereal Week”?  A week where family members took time, either in the morning or at night, to eat their favorite cereal and just talk?” Well for everyone who believes that our life is yet unwritten and believes in creating lasting beautiful moments lets kick off “Cereal Week” on September 20th.  There’s a stat that states that “the average parent spends 38.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children. (A.C. Nielsen Co.)” Let’s take a moment to change this stat, at least in our personal life, and child by child make a difference. So go out and buy your favorite childhood cereal and share unforgettable moments with our kids. Join us September 20 or tonight in this beautiful experience.

What an experience

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first Campaign: “Letters to Our Children”. I hope that we all took the opportunity to create these memories for ourselves and our loved ones. If we forgot to, and believe me I understand how life can get hectic, I hope we can take a moment to write them. To be completely honest, it was an extremely beautiful experience. I wrote to both my 1 year old son and 12 year old nephew. To take the time to sit quietly and write them a letter was both humbling and reflective. It caused me to think about so many unanswered questions I have, to over analyze my life, my imperfections, my shortcomings, whether or not I would succeed as a father or whether or not I would even use the correct words in my letters to both my son and nephew. I then paused and looked at pictures of them and this love overwhelmed every corner of my being and I then began to write in love….I can’t describe the joy that filled my heart Here’s an excerpt of my letter to my son: “It feels like just yesterday I saw you enter my life. The joy of seeing and holding you left me speechless. You’ll never know, until you have your son, the joy and love that captured my heart and soul as I, your Papi, looked upon you. To be your father will be the greatest honor I will have ever received.”After writing my letters, I then thought, let us all write in love and not in past failures or present fears….let the letters not be ones formulated to make our children into the individuals we think they should be, but let us with the greatest joy, watch them become who they are intended to be. Overall I hope these letters will convey the love we have for them, because after all, that’s what life is simply all about….LOVE. – Unwritten-

Letters to Our Children Campaign

Hey Everyone,

Do you remember the last time you got a hand written letter in the mail? One that filled you with joy and surprise…the good kind well writing someone a letter by hand is such a lost art and one with such a power to brighten someone’s life.  Sure it takes time, and it’s quicker to email, IM or text….and yes, to read a text saying “Hey I miss you and love you” or recieve a phone call can be nice, but in my opinion, it can’t be compared to actually receiving a letter and reading it in black and white.  What a beautiful feeling….knowing someone took the time to actually write and send you a letter makes it so much more meaningful….it is forever….a record of someone’s love that you will be able to cherish time and time again.  Why not share this experience with a loved one? Maybe even your son or daughter who may not have ever received a letter in the mail from you….what a memory they would have…though my son is only a year old, and still can’t read…it is a record that can be kept till he is able to read….and what better way to learn to read but by his father’s letters.  It is never too early to begin writing your child. So whether you have a son or daughter, adopted, in foster care, or thru marriage, join me August 25, 2010 in Unwritten Page’s first monthly “Letters to our Children” campaign.  Let’s bring back the beautiful art of letter writing and create moments that will fill the lives of our children with hope and love.  This campaign, in part, inspired me to design the t-shirt titled “Unwritten” which is also our logo. Welcome aboard my fellow authors in LIFE.

In the News

Posted: Sunday, July 25, 2010 1:00 am | Updated: 6:26 pm, Thu Jul 22, 2010.

By JANE HOWARD LEE | 0 comments

A Baytown artist hopes to share some of the lessons he learned as a teacher through a new pursuit. He is designing and producing T-shirts that feature his art and inspirational messages meant to instill a sense of hope and purpose in young people.

Edmund Lewis, 31, moved here with his family from Puerto Rico as a small child. Along with two sisters, a brother and his parents, he found the United States a place of hope and inspiration.

Lewis and his sisters both ended up working in education. Now one sister works for Lee College, another for Goose Creek ISD, while his brother is in the U.S. Coast Guard. Lewis taught elementary school here and worked as a family involvement coordinator, then took a position near Austin where he ended up a vice principal before choosing to return to Baytown once again.

“I saw a lot of kids from broken homes,” he said. “I guess that is why it has become so important for me to find a way to efficiently share a message of hope especially for kids in our society, especially in the U.S.

“Through my designs, I hope to help inspire kids to refocus and realize that they can rewrite their priorities. No matter how their yesterdays read, their future is unwritten.”

That’s what Lewis calls his T-shirt line — “Unwritten.”

He said that it means that everyone has the power to change their lives, to make their future better than it seems it might be … to change paths, change habits, change goals.

“I’m inviting all fellow authors of life to write a better page for today than yesterday,” he explained. His designs are meant to inspire that.

Each design has a name. They start with an idea, some words and then he creates a simple work of art to go with the message. Each shirt sold will include a printed lesson to go with the message. Some messages are aimed at youths, while some are aimed at their parents.

For example, the T-shirt that he calls “Search” includes art of a child gazing through a telescope at the universe around him.

Inspired by a friend of the artist who wanted to find his birth father, the message reads “My heart searches for you among the stars … I just wonder if somehow you’re there searching for me also.”

Some of Lewis’ other T-shirt creations are called “Communicate,” “Voiceless,” “Pursue,” “Redeem,” “Simple Pleasures,” “Let Them Fly,” and “Music.”

The art ranges from piano keyboards and guitars to kids in swings and even birds, all done in a simple graphic style similar to designs sold in many stores currently and worn by everyone from kids to rock stars.

It is not hard to imagine sales of his T-shirt designs taking off.

Lewis’ isn’t looking for personal profit, though.

He hopes to form a foundation and let proceeds from the T-shirt sales go toward scholarships, toward helping young couples that are looking to adopt children, and toward helping kids in foster situations.

“There is nothing better than investing in tomorrow, in the future here in America,” he said.

Lewis said his shirts will be available on a website that is almost ready to go public.

“It should be up and running by July 31st or by the first of August, for sure,” he said.

The website, which should be ready at the beginning of August,  will be www.unwritten

page.com and people who want more information should be able to reach him through the e-mail address available on the new website. Until then, he can be reached at junito4@excite.com.

What Unwritten is All About

Unwritten Page was founded on an idea whose message I wish to translate thru the form of art and uniquely designed t-shirts. Typically an intro section gives info on the individual or on his/her company….on this blog, I hope the conversations will include not just info on my journey, which you will learn about, but include yours and everyone who is on this journey thru life as parents and individuals. Each design and art piece is inspired by beautiful moments in which I hope the voices of many will be shared and heard. The designs are simple, fashionable  and thoughtfully created in hopes of motivating and inspiring us in becoming…..the rest of this story or journey is yet unwritten….I welcome you all my fellow authors of life…