The weather in Los Angeles has been less than awesome lately, and it seems like the sun decided to leave us Angelenos indefinitely. While the desert could use a good downpour once in a while, the rainy situation was not ideal for a day of high-impact community service. On my early morning drive to Belvedere Middle School in East LA, I saw more than one mangled car, their parts scattered across the freeway. Despite the dangerous conditions, I made it to Belvedere around 9:00 am, and watched the City Year Los Angeles Opening Ceremony begin. 

As an alum of City Year Los Angeles (CYLA), I recognized plenty of faces. I was told that they were expecting at least 1,000 volunteers, but the weather had obviously deterred a good chunk of volunteers from serving, and everyone was so thankful that I actually showed up. Corps members were bundled up in their yellow bombers and scarves, and we stood patiently, coffee in hand, waiting to be deployed to our stations. I was on the "Be The Change" team with my fellow alumni. All teams were named after famous quotes by influential leaders, and mine happened to be one of my favorite quotes of all time by Ghandi: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." 

There were paint cans, paintbrushes, water buckets, and dripping wet volunteers everywhere. The outdoor projects had to be postponed, but there were plenty of walls and stairways inside the school that were ready to be painted. The great thing about City Year service days is that no experience is necessary. You might have never painted in your life, but it doesn't matter. There is always someone willing to lend a helping hand, and if you accidentally paint outside the lines, no one will yell at you. 

I was put on the task of painting the stairway in the Technology & Media hallway. After a brief name game, we were given our brushes and paint. Since there weren't enough paint cups for everyone, a guy named Jonnie asked to share mine with me. He told me he was from Canada, and that he was here in L.A. with his friends to visit. I told him I went to New York Univsersity, he told me he went to McGill University, and we played the 'I know someone who went there! Do you know them?' game. He also told me that he and three of his friends had created a list of 100 things they want to do before they die, and they were on their journey to complete all 100. This all sounded SO amazing to me. I created a Life List of 50 things a while back, and I am always updating and crossing things off. I wondered how long it took them to create the ultimate list of 100 things together. Wouldn't they all have different things they wanted to do? 

As time went by, and conversations continued, I began to notice more and more people coming over to say hi to him and his friends. There was also a photographer, a woman who kept talking about 'the bus,' and a guy who wanted to get Jonnie to approve his Twitter updates every other second. 

Who IS this guy?

Turns out, THIS guy and his friends are the stars of a new show called 'The Buried Life' that was premiering THAT NIGHT (Monday) on MTV! The premise of the show is that they travel around and complete things on their list. For each thing they cross off, they help someone else cross off something on their list. Their modesty was alarming and inspiring. These guys took the time to come to a middle school in East LA in the pouring rain to paint a wall when they had a brand new show that was premiering on an international network. They clearly didn't care about the fame and fortune their new show would bring them. They only cared about making a difference, one paint stroke at a time.

We can be the change, and we can make a difference. It starts with people like Jonnie, and me, and you. 

If you haven't already, be sure to check out their show at 10:00 pm Monday nights on MTV. Also check out their website, www.theburiedlife.com, and create your own list of things you want to do before you die.