Written Content

 Narrative Grant Writing Response 

Upon acceptance into the program, families are promptly paired with one of our skilled housing navigators. These dedicated professionals guide families through a comprehensive six-step process, meticulously crafted to provide a thorough understanding of their housing circumstances.

The journey unfolds cinematically like a blind date. Our initial call is to get to know them, what they are looking for in support, and what is to come from our potential marriage to their success. We then transition, to their living room couch, knee to knee for a more comprehensive on site property visit, where the intimate details are captured in person. 

This close interaction not only helps us identify the specific challenges they face, but also builds a shared reality of trust and rapport. Our primary goal at this stage is to help generate excitement and build a unique wealth vision together with the family in the center of their cherished investment.

In what you would consider our “courting phase” we gather, prepare, and provide essential information to the homeowners, always prioritizing their wealth vision. We present our “proposal ring” by identifying the highest and best use of their property and facilitating connections to a diverse network of industry experts. These experts include architects, geotechnical specialists, designers, structural engineers, legal advisors, estate planners, and loan providers. Our program equips homeowners with the necessary tools to maximize their assets effectively.

In my sophomore year of high school, my English teacher gave us an assignment after we finished reading Lord of the Flies. The prompt was simple yet profound: "Are we born good or bad?" We were required to include at least one outside source to support our argument.

If you know me, you know I can write anything on the spot, especially if it's for someone else. By this point, I’d already decided homework existed solely for our teacher’s entertainment. I pictured her, glasses perched halfway down her dainty European nose, red wine in hand, laughing at our clumsy attempts to hide plagiarism or craft coherent sentences. After all, if you’re not cheating, are you even trying?

Regardless, I chose to add to her amusement by doing the assignment my way. I found a source and started writing. I cranked out two to three pages in a couple of hours, read it aloud, and handed it in on the due date. Had to keep my teacher on her toes, after all.

I don’t remember how long it took her to grade our papers, but I do remember the moment I got mine back. There, in bold, blood-red ink, she had written all over my assignment in her signature teacher calligraphy. My initial concern was that my subtle defiance hadn’t been as amusing to her as I’d hoped. The truth? I hadn’t answered the prompt directly. I didn’t believe children were born either good or bad. At the time, I hadn’t studied psychology or child development, so I wasn’t prepared to discuss how children perceive morality. Instead, I took a more controversial route. My source? The Bible.

In Ezekiel 18:20, it says, "A child inherits neither sin nor righteousness." In other words, children aren’t born good or bad—they are born innocent. I equated innocence with purity, and purity with being untouched. Children come into the world as blank slates, ready to absorb the experiences life throws at them. Their birth doesn’t make them good or bad; it simply exposes them to the sinful world outside the womb. I’d lose that paper over the years, but it’s the first assignment I remember being truly proud of. Though I can’t recall exactly what I wrote, the lesson from that assignment has stuck with me for over 15 years. There’s so much grey area when it comes to defining "good" and "bad." In fact, those labels are often a matter of perspective.

Consider these examples:

• Killing someone is bad, right? But what about the death penalty for serial killers or rapists? We support it in certain circumstances.
• Money is good, isn’t it? Or is it?
• The Bible tells us that in the beginning, there was darkness, and then God created light, which "was good." Yet today, we can talk about the harmful effects of sunlight, from global warming to skin cancer. Darkness, often labeled as "bad," just exists, much like light.

As I’ve explored different philosophies, my current readings on Ho’oponopono have provided an even deeper understanding of this. It’s not about being "good" or "bad"—it’s about being human and experiencing life. Every action is just that: an experience. Society, those observing you, and your own mind rush to label actions as good or bad, but in truth, they’re simply experiences. Even in what we label as the "very bad," there’s some kernel of good, even if it’s only self-satisfaction.

You are not defined by your good or bad experiences. You are simply human, living, and learning.