For three months, TYAP traversed the country in an RV, stopping along the way in cities, suburbs, and small towns to profile intriguing peers. There were four of us - Ben, Adam, Matt, and Wigs. We took photographs, captured video footage, and posted updates on a website (this website, actually). Now we're writing a book and producing a documentary. The focus is on the way young people view their world and what their hopes are for America, for their community, and for themselves.

Here's our original mission statement:

The Young Americans Project seeks to provide a voice for our generation. America wants to know who its young citizens are, what they desire, and how they will shape our nation’s future.  There are many questions that need answers. How will unlimited and readily available information change the way we view the world? Are we plagued by a sense of entitlement? Do we have the desire and tools to lead America into the future? Who are the innovators, the leaders, the role players? Where is the idealism? How will we respond to the globalization that has brought terrorism and unprecedented competition to our doorsteps?

To some, America’s youngest adult generation is viewed as a nameless and voiceless band, unified only by clustered birth dates.  But the young men and women of America are in fact a burgeoning and dynamic class that is coming of age in the post-9/11 era.  They are working to find their place in a changing world, growing into their adult skin, and yearning to be heard.