I like to say I'm more than half way done, but really I don't know what percentage. All I know is I have a lot to work on and lately (meaning the last month and a half) I haven't done any work because I've been studying.

I’d sometimes sit at home on my bed during a humid muggy Sunday afternoon flipping through channels. I’d land on a baseball game. Little figures would run across the screen throwing a ball around, running from one base to another, a ball went high in the air, the crowed screamed, what did this mean? What’s the significance of this? I’d grow tired of watching and turn off the TV.

Last week there was an article in the New York Times about the negative impact texting is having on teenagers. This article seems to me to be an exaggeration. I don’t think texting is as serious an issue as it is made to seem here.

Mr. Grzelecki, a teacher at Ditmas Junior High School (IS 62) in Brooklyn, used Jacuyra's Rookies story to teach his students a lesson. After listening to 'My Mother vs. The Streets' his 7th graders wrote responses to 5 questions.

At a first glance, Ditmas Junior High School (IS 62) was a safe space, something I could never say about my junior high (and yes I was a bit jealous). The security guards that greeted Kaddeem Wright and I seemed laid back and respectful (more than the ones at my old junior high) and the kids that we passed in the hallways seemed happy and at home.

We're halfway through our current workshop in the Bronx, at the Next Generation Center. Here's some photos of the Rookies at work.

During my workshop in the fall of 2004, we got microphones I thought resembled giant lollipops. I was always afraid I'd stick its head near the interviewee's mouth too fast and vigorously causing a bruised lip or a chipped tooth. I'd have to plead for mercy in an emergency room amidst wailing ambulance sirens and explain that I was only trying to complete an assignment for my radio workshop. Thankfully, this never happened.

When Kaari, Sanda and I walk into the Next Generation Center, the home of our current Bronx workshop, it's like walking into a house party. Hip hop and rap deejayed by kids from the center thumps just a little too loud. I keep thinking some adult is going to put the kabosh on this, but they don't seem phased.

As the new Rookies intern (and former Rookie myself) I had the pleasure of accompanying AJ, Keith and Courtney for a small tour of the neighborhood. We walked down 172nd street away from the elevated 5 & 2 train lines in search of possible interviewees.

Defining a great story or angle for a topic is one of the trickiest moments in the Radio Rookies workshop.  The Rookie has to find a story idea that will capture her attention for six months, a topic that will have meaning to a greater audience.  Sometimes the perfect story idea jumps out during the first day of workshop, but usually the process takes building trust, several conversations, and reflection to find the perfect story idea.

Last night was the kind of evening when most people want to curl up under a blanket watch the latest episode of 106 & Park or 30 Rock. With temperatures in the lower teens, I wondered how many of the new Radio Rookies would make the 1.5 hour trek from their neighborhood down to Soho to visit WNYC Radio for the first time.

Radio Rookies works with teenagers to create documentary stories about the things that matter most to them. We hold 6-month long workshops around New York City's five boroughs, teaching young people how to do interviews, record sounds, and structure a story that, ultimately, will air onWNYC . The Radio Rookies Blog is a place for program staff and participants to take you behind the scenes, to give you a chance to get to know us better, and to hear what's on the Rookies' minds.

The Radio Rookies Blog is a place for program staff and participants to take you behind the scenes. You'll hear from the producers and the Rookies, past and present. Check back often to hear what’s on the Rookies’ minds.

The broadcast Radio Rookies Brooklyn workshop was held in partnership with the High School for Global Citizenship (HSGC) in Crown Heights. The newest Rookies stories explored why parents work so much, child abuse, literacy, not reaching one's potential, and being different. Listen here.