Good afternoon. Notice in that introduction everyone here has five kids. In the future I hope to have five kids, so next time you can add that to my introduction.

My name is Lan Tsubata and I work with a team called the Washington AIDS International Teens. We've been working with this group for almost four years now and we've traveled to Jerusalem, England, Korea, including many states in America, and started about 8 or 9 chapters of the WAIT team. So I've been busy. But I enjoy this work. I hope here today that I can explain the path that the WAIT team has given me.

We're talking about media and the culture today, right? Part of the WAIT team is dancing and break dancing, which teens like, especially the ones in the schools where we do our presentations. Everyone thoroughly enjoys break dancing.

I don't break dance, but I dance, and through traveling to Korea and England and Israel, working with people of all different nationalities and backgrounds I've realized how strong an impact the American media and culture have on different countries. I go to a different country and they say, “Oh, you know 50 Cent?” Like, yeah, he's my next-door neighbor, right? No. Or, do you know this person, or do you know that dance move? Has anyone heard of the Harlem Shake or Heel-Toe or the Chicken Head or something – these are all dance moves that young people know. It's amazing how universal it is.

You go to another country and do a dance, “Oh, yeah, I know that one.” It's an amazing tool to get to know somebody. It's a way to have a connection because we know the same dance moves. And it all comes from the American culture. The media has given out these things and everyone thinks, oh, Americans are just like this. It's kind of scary, they ask, “Oh, do you have a gun?” No. But the American media portrays everybody in America having a gun, or everybody in America having people dancing around them. Do we walk down the street and see people dancing? No, that's not how America really is.

I've realized that as Americans we have a lot of power and influence on the youth of this world. Many youth follow the examples that they see on TV and in music videos, and a lot of people think if Americans are doing that and they're kind of represented as the cool people, then hey, we should try that too.

Working on the WAIT team, we teach about HIV-AIDS, and that's one problem that is universal. Every country in the world has to deal with this issue. AIDS is horrible and we want to explain how every person has the ability to make a difference.

From working in this field, I've realized that the best way to scare the media is to have teens who can think for themselves. That could be the best way to change this culture is by having teens who actually know their own value. We go into the schools and teach how every single person can make a difference. We sing songs, do dances. The teens that we perform for are those who are going to change the world, are the people who are going to make the difference, and who can be the next star because they can stand up for themselves because they know their value.

That is a huge, refreshing idea that a lot of teens don't hear. I was a teen. I'm 21 now but I was a teen, three years ago, not that far back. But I remember as a teen you want to think for yourself. You know how the world works. You know how you want to live your life. Teens want to be who they are and stand up for themselves, but they don't realize sometimes that because of the influences they are actually submitting themselves. They're being enslaved by what they see and they don't realize that their own potential and power as just one teen, just one person can make the difference in the entire world. That's what they don't hear a lot. They hear, “Buy this CD, wear this thing, or watch this TV show.” But they don't hear about how they could actually produce their own TV shows, make their own music, produce movies, and be an actor or actress that can change the world. They just hear what they need to buy into.

To change this culture we need to empower the youth. We always say that, right, empower the youth because the youth are our future. We hear that a lot. Teens say, “Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.” So how do we empower the youth, and how do we secure our future?

The first thing is to scare the media by having youth that can think for themselves. But I think one thing that can defeat the media and the culture is the family, right? Everything happens in the family. Being a teenager you struggle with your parents – a lot of us know how it is. “Don't you trust me? Don't you love me? Why can't I do this? You know me!” And of course your parents say, “No, we don't. You are not doing that!” I realized my parents were there to talk with me, would cry with me, would fight with me, and they were always there for me. I realized that in the end that they were the ones who are going to be there for me more than my friend or someone in the media or the movies. They're not going to be there for me when I need them. That was actually the changing point in my life, when I realized that my family was going to be there for me no matter what. That can be the most powerful influence on someone's life, to know that your parents are going to be there for you and support you in anything that you are trying to do to realize your potential. They realize your potential before, you know, 50 Cents realizes your potential.

When your parents see that in you and you get empowered by that family, that home, that support group that you need to make those decisions, to realize your own value, and by that you can actually make a difference in the world. I believe that every person has the power to make a difference in the world once they realize their own value.

We also need to see the examples, right? I remember hearing, “Do as I say, not as I do.” That doesn't cut it for a lot of teens now. When we go on the stage and we sing or dance and we say, this is what we do and we're abstinent and we want to save the world, people say, “No, you don't really want to do that.” Yes, we do! This is because we are all abstinent and they get to actually see the example and know we're not playing. We're actually being real, we're being honest about it. That has a big impact when they see people who are saying and doing. I think that's a big influence. That's a big thing.

Parents also realize that once – even adults – we're all affected by the media, not just the youth. We all are. So the standard that the parents may put out is the same standard that we need to see from them as well, so that we know, okay. If you say, I can make a million dollars appear here, right now, people will say, “Show me the money. Let me see you do that.” They're not just going to believe you. They want to see it to believe it.

We need to put those examples out there and make those public. I believe that we can change this culture. Call me a dreamer, but I believe we can change this culture and it has to start, one, with the family, with the parents and kids working together, each other realizing that there's value there, that the home is where the heart is and all the other nice things. That's where we're really going to get the empowerment to actually go out in this world and become what we really want to be, to realize our own value. That's how good decisions can be made, right? We've all heard if you don't know your value, you can get into things where you think you will find your value. Drugs, sex, violence. That's where people will think they'll find their value. It's not because they think, I'm going to go do something bad right. It's, when I have drugs I will be happy. They're trying to find happiness. Finding it at home is the biggest thing we can do. It's the foundation for making a difference.

The culture today we know is not the best. That's why we're here. We know it's nothing that we want. So the question is what are we going to do about it? The people here are making action steps toward changing the culture. It can start with every single individual – parents, kids, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, little babies. Everybody has the power to do that, by standing up for yourself and knowing the value of each person.

We have a song called “Hero” that we'll be performing, which is by Super Chick but rewritten by the WAIT team members. It's about how every single person can become a hero. We know many people who through huge difficulties they faced have become heroes, not only for others but for themselves. People have to realize that you have to be a hero for yourself. You are the cause, the person that's going to make you go somewhere. It starts with yourself, then your family.