Yesterday morning my gym was closed so I ended up simply doing lunges in my courtyard on a Sunday morning. Note to self- never do lunges again! My legs were burning all day :(
Another reason they might have been burning is I finally got my Timbs! They weight a ton on my feet but I have a little secret- I LOVE WEARING THEM! The saying, "Boots on the ground", to describe City Year corp members working in the schools, sends chills up my spine. Pounding down the hallways in my boots made me feel wonderful and like I could really make an impact.
Today we did more shadowing and I went to some really interesting class that gave me a better view of SJ Davis. I shadowed a Special Ed Math class in which there were students of all grades, a 7th grade art class, a 6th grade social studies class and then some other 6th grade classes. It was interesting seeing other classes that really make up a lot of the school, I also found some very awesome classroom spaces that have a lot of potential as after school club locations.
A 6th grade English teachers asked the students today: "What has changed for you in the last year?"
My answer (that I kept to myself):
1. Moved to Texas
2. Moved out of my parent's home
3. Have to now pay bills
4. Cut my hair short
5. Graduated high school
6. Got better at yoga/swimming/empathizing
Some student answers:
-I have to change classes
-More sophisticated
-Got a journal... got darker... got sexier
And on that note.
Daily Hero:
Julie Marie Billingsley
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Raining raining, stay a while, please
It rained in beautiful beautiful San Antonio today. This was one of the highlights of my day. I have been (kind of) embracing the heat, but it was nice having some variety. I had an amazing lunch. Hand packing my lunch is like such an awesome thing to do. I know I've done it in high school, but doing it now is different.
I buy my own food, pack my own lunch, drive my own car to training, which I buy my own gas for. It's all just very independent. I was reading today in "The Current" (which is a free weekly local paper in San Antonio with listings of events and cool stuff) about going off to college gives you a fake paid for type of freedom and to enjoy it. I feel that one of the most beneficial things I am gaining from City Year is true independence. Yes my parents do own the car and they will be paying for me to fly home for Thanksgiving and winter break, but otherwise it's all me. This feeling of pure satisfaction at what I have managed to provide for myself is amazing. It will also make me appreciate college A LOT when a meal plan is included, but this sudden gaining of independence and all the woes and joys which come along with it is sort of awesome. I feel like a grown up. When I tell people my age here I usually here something along the lines of "No way!". And that is probably because at the moment and for the next ten months filled with moments, I have to act much older than a typical 18 year old has to act.
We learned today about math tutoring and I feel now I am super super ready to get in the schools! These couple days of training have been rough because I've tasted the sweet fruit of being in the schools and actually helping and I want to be THERE! Not in more training. But this is useful, so I understand.
A cool relaxing float in the pool was a wonderful way to end the evening.
Daily Hero: My TLs who take everything I need back to the CY office which means one less trip for me, so very convenient and very not part of their job description- but they do it anyway and I love them.
I buy my own food, pack my own lunch, drive my own car to training, which I buy my own gas for. It's all just very independent. I was reading today in "The Current" (which is a free weekly local paper in San Antonio with listings of events and cool stuff) about going off to college gives you a fake paid for type of freedom and to enjoy it. I feel that one of the most beneficial things I am gaining from City Year is true independence. Yes my parents do own the car and they will be paying for me to fly home for Thanksgiving and winter break, but otherwise it's all me. This feeling of pure satisfaction at what I have managed to provide for myself is amazing. It will also make me appreciate college A LOT when a meal plan is included, but this sudden gaining of independence and all the woes and joys which come along with it is sort of awesome. I feel like a grown up. When I tell people my age here I usually here something along the lines of "No way!". And that is probably because at the moment and for the next ten months filled with moments, I have to act much older than a typical 18 year old has to act.
We learned today about math tutoring and I feel now I am super super ready to get in the schools! These couple days of training have been rough because I've tasted the sweet fruit of being in the schools and actually helping and I want to be THERE! Not in more training. But this is useful, so I understand.
A cool relaxing float in the pool was a wonderful way to end the evening.
Daily Hero: My TLs who take everything I need back to the CY office which means one less trip for me, so very convenient and very not part of their job description- but they do it anyway and I love them.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Jamba Juice!
Today we had some really cool training at this place called Region 20, which trains teachers how to teach and educators how to educate and so on and so forth. Our day was led by a fantastic woman who I totally want to be my role model/mentor. She was so honest and although most of her stuff was supposed to be focused on reading, she managed to pack enough life lessons in there to make me really appreciate her lesson and the fact that other teachers also exist like her. She imparted us with some major lessons for the year, my faves are listed below:
Ask students, "What do you need from me to be successful?". And mean it. And then do whatever they need to be successful. As long as you care enough to make it work, it'll work.
A students main homework every night is to get home safely and then get back to school safely the next day.
Treat others like this might be the last interaction they ever have with another human being.
Look at every side of a person, and you'll find at least one side to connect with.
You don't have to value me, I'll value you, and we'll find a middle ground.
She read us a lot of children books and one in particular she read was called "The Big Box" by Toni Morrison. I love, love, love Toni Morrison, so I knew even before she started that I would fall in love with this books. It was all about what would happen if freedom was taken away from kids. It was so intense and dramatic and thought provoking and twisted, classic Toni Morrison that I know and love.
At the end of the session I felt so appreciative and was thankful for all the awesome readers in my life who had infused me with this passion. I also started recalling important times of my life, in my early reading years.
In kindergarten I so vividly remember reading aloud to my class from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", and I was so incredibly proud that I could hold up the book and turn the pages and read fluently all at the same time to my whole class. That pride was so immensely powerful, and that is what probably motivated me to join speech team almost 10 years later during my junior year. I was ashamed to read in front of my class, and I hated having that feeling. I remembered being confident in my skills and I am so glad that I regained the ability to talk in front of a class and in front of people, be it reading or top of my head thinking. That time in my life where I lacked that ability, is something that I think will help me be a better tutor. I've been through the cycle of pride, shame, and then pride. And I know how good the feeling is when it is not shame and embarrassment.
When we got home after some gym time, skype time and food time, my room mates and I went to Borders which is having the huge blow out sale, and spent...too much money on books. But how often is a major major book store going out of business and having a more that 50% off sale on most things??!
I got a memoir about a polygamist, a cross dresser, a stripper, and an Iranian prisoner. Then a book filled with creative non-fiction essays. A book about hoarders. And finally, a fictional book about an admissions officer at Princeton. No one is going to tell me I don't have a wide reading love.
Daily Hero: Those who are passionate about what they do. Chefs, educators, or anyone in between, I am inspired by 'em all.
Ask students, "What do you need from me to be successful?". And mean it. And then do whatever they need to be successful. As long as you care enough to make it work, it'll work.
A students main homework every night is to get home safely and then get back to school safely the next day.
Treat others like this might be the last interaction they ever have with another human being.
Look at every side of a person, and you'll find at least one side to connect with.
You don't have to value me, I'll value you, and we'll find a middle ground.
She read us a lot of children books and one in particular she read was called "The Big Box" by Toni Morrison. I love, love, love Toni Morrison, so I knew even before she started that I would fall in love with this books. It was all about what would happen if freedom was taken away from kids. It was so intense and dramatic and thought provoking and twisted, classic Toni Morrison that I know and love.
At the end of the session I felt so appreciative and was thankful for all the awesome readers in my life who had infused me with this passion. I also started recalling important times of my life, in my early reading years.
In kindergarten I so vividly remember reading aloud to my class from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", and I was so incredibly proud that I could hold up the book and turn the pages and read fluently all at the same time to my whole class. That pride was so immensely powerful, and that is what probably motivated me to join speech team almost 10 years later during my junior year. I was ashamed to read in front of my class, and I hated having that feeling. I remembered being confident in my skills and I am so glad that I regained the ability to talk in front of a class and in front of people, be it reading or top of my head thinking. That time in my life where I lacked that ability, is something that I think will help me be a better tutor. I've been through the cycle of pride, shame, and then pride. And I know how good the feeling is when it is not shame and embarrassment.
When we got home after some gym time, skype time and food time, my room mates and I went to Borders which is having the huge blow out sale, and spent...too much money on books. But how often is a major major book store going out of business and having a more that 50% off sale on most things??!
I got a memoir about a polygamist, a cross dresser, a stripper, and an Iranian prisoner. Then a book filled with creative non-fiction essays. A book about hoarders. And finally, a fictional book about an admissions officer at Princeton. No one is going to tell me I don't have a wide reading love.
Daily Hero: Those who are passionate about what they do. Chefs, educators, or anyone in between, I am inspired by 'em all.
Monday, August 22, 2011
First Day Ja-jitters (words)
We had a crazy 45 minute power greet that pumped us all up! All the kids walked in and we seemed to give them some positive energy.
Davis is incredibly strict about rules so all day the kids were hailed with negatives and yelled at about rules, I think CY is going to be awesome with bringing some fierce positive energy in.
I shadowed one math teacher who was absolutely amazing and engaging. She brought all of the kids to her level and really tried to make a personal connection with all of the students. I shadowed on of her regular classes and her Pre AP-GT (gifted and talented) class. It was so interesting how they all shy away from being smart, one kid said "Oh yeah, well I got the answer right, but it's not a big deal." Being smart is the anti-cool. I told them that nerds rule the world and one student said, "No, Obama rules the world". I then told them that Obama is a nerd, he went to Harvard. Then another student asked me if Harvard actually existed. There was one student in the Pre AP-GT class who spent most of the time tagging. It made me think that I would love to start a mural club! Because tagging is one step away from grafitti and then grafitti is one step away from being a mural! Since murals are a little more socially acceptable than tagging (and more creative), then maybe we could channel all that negative self expression to something that could actually benefit the community.
The lunch room was very interesting. The tables are long like tables you see in movies featuring prison. The mentality is very get your food, get out, no socializing necessary. It's kind of a harsh environment, but I know the school means really well, they just are forgetting that these kids are well, kids. I had to step in in a bullying occurrence because the lunch room attendants seemed more concerned about the students being in straight lines than how they were behaving.
All in all a really good and interesting first day. I took a lot of notes, a lot of lot of notes. And I'm starting on the in-kinding, trying to get school supplies, spare belts (to be worn at the waist- no sagging at Davis), books and bookshelves for the CY classroom. I'm skipping the gym tonight, I need to just kind of hold a debrief session in my mind about my day. No exercise, no thank you, power greeting in 100+ degree heat was enough for me.
Daily Hero: All the middle school teachers who are great. They outshine the ones who are not so great, tenfold!
Davis is incredibly strict about rules so all day the kids were hailed with negatives and yelled at about rules, I think CY is going to be awesome with bringing some fierce positive energy in.
I shadowed one math teacher who was absolutely amazing and engaging. She brought all of the kids to her level and really tried to make a personal connection with all of the students. I shadowed on of her regular classes and her Pre AP-GT (gifted and talented) class. It was so interesting how they all shy away from being smart, one kid said "Oh yeah, well I got the answer right, but it's not a big deal." Being smart is the anti-cool. I told them that nerds rule the world and one student said, "No, Obama rules the world". I then told them that Obama is a nerd, he went to Harvard. Then another student asked me if Harvard actually existed. There was one student in the Pre AP-GT class who spent most of the time tagging. It made me think that I would love to start a mural club! Because tagging is one step away from grafitti and then grafitti is one step away from being a mural! Since murals are a little more socially acceptable than tagging (and more creative), then maybe we could channel all that negative self expression to something that could actually benefit the community.
The lunch room was very interesting. The tables are long like tables you see in movies featuring prison. The mentality is very get your food, get out, no socializing necessary. It's kind of a harsh environment, but I know the school means really well, they just are forgetting that these kids are well, kids. I had to step in in a bullying occurrence because the lunch room attendants seemed more concerned about the students being in straight lines than how they were behaving.
All in all a really good and interesting first day. I took a lot of notes, a lot of lot of notes. And I'm starting on the in-kinding, trying to get school supplies, spare belts (to be worn at the waist- no sagging at Davis), books and bookshelves for the CY classroom. I'm skipping the gym tonight, I need to just kind of hold a debrief session in my mind about my day. No exercise, no thank you, power greeting in 100+ degree heat was enough for me.
Daily Hero: All the middle school teachers who are great. They outshine the ones who are not so great, tenfold!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, and the livin' is easy
I ended up crashing on the living room floor, so I could sleep under the cool breeze of the fan. I woke up around 10ish and forgot about breakfast and just went to the gym. I did a grueling 45 minute eliptical work out while watching Jersey Shore and was exhausted after I had finished because of my forgetful eating habits.
I came home showered and called the parents. They told me about how you can register to attend a Ted Talk conference! But the price is 3,750-12,000. Real expensive to sit in the audience when I can just watch online for free! There is something where you can email and request a price drop if you work in a non-profit or in education (ding ding, me!), but the application is super complex and I am incredibly intimidated. My mom is also flying in to visit me for opening day which will be so fun and I know she is glad that she will get to see me before Thanksgiving.
Then we went grocery shopping and bought food for the potluck BBQ and I got to use my food stamps. When I realized I hadn't spent any of MY actual money for the beautiful produce I had purchased, I literally raised my hands in victory. It was amazing feeling, and a huge huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.
We hosted a BBQ tonight as I said earlier, we invited the whole corps but only about 15 showed up, it was SO much fun! I made burgers, typical Camp Echo sizzle burger styles, and someone brought wings, and we had desserts and salads and yum. It was such a wonderful feeling, each of us bringing something to the table and sharing good food and great discussions together. After we had finished chowing down we played in the pool for what seemed like two hours and did PT in the pool! We kept doing CY chants and callbacks and it was so silly and fun. CY really is like camp for older kids, and I am addicted to all the ridiculous components that make up the CY spirit. We also made a friend at the pool whose daughter was interested in doing something with Americorps, so we told her all about CY and the mom said she would definitely tell her daughter! It would be so amazing if her daughter joined all because of some silly pool PT.
Tomorrow is the first day we will meet the students. We are getting there early because SJ Davis is having lots of local businesses come to greet the students and enforce the fact that it really is a new day at Davis. I am so super excited and not really nervous, just pumped for the amazing next 10ish months I have heading my way.
Daily Hero: Food Stamps, for sure. As frustrated as I am with a system that is so obviously flawed, it is a gymongo weight off my shoulders and now I will be able to provide snacks for my after school program without being stressed about, ya know, buying food for my own lunch!
I came home showered and called the parents. They told me about how you can register to attend a Ted Talk conference! But the price is 3,750-12,000. Real expensive to sit in the audience when I can just watch online for free! There is something where you can email and request a price drop if you work in a non-profit or in education (ding ding, me!), but the application is super complex and I am incredibly intimidated. My mom is also flying in to visit me for opening day which will be so fun and I know she is glad that she will get to see me before Thanksgiving.
Then we went grocery shopping and bought food for the potluck BBQ and I got to use my food stamps. When I realized I hadn't spent any of MY actual money for the beautiful produce I had purchased, I literally raised my hands in victory. It was amazing feeling, and a huge huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.
We hosted a BBQ tonight as I said earlier, we invited the whole corps but only about 15 showed up, it was SO much fun! I made burgers, typical Camp Echo sizzle burger styles, and someone brought wings, and we had desserts and salads and yum. It was such a wonderful feeling, each of us bringing something to the table and sharing good food and great discussions together. After we had finished chowing down we played in the pool for what seemed like two hours and did PT in the pool! We kept doing CY chants and callbacks and it was so silly and fun. CY really is like camp for older kids, and I am addicted to all the ridiculous components that make up the CY spirit. We also made a friend at the pool whose daughter was interested in doing something with Americorps, so we told her all about CY and the mom said she would definitely tell her daughter! It would be so amazing if her daughter joined all because of some silly pool PT.
Tomorrow is the first day we will meet the students. We are getting there early because SJ Davis is having lots of local businesses come to greet the students and enforce the fact that it really is a new day at Davis. I am so super excited and not really nervous, just pumped for the amazing next 10ish months I have heading my way.
Daily Hero: Food Stamps, for sure. As frustrated as I am with a system that is so obviously flawed, it is a gymongo weight off my shoulders and now I will be able to provide snacks for my after school program without being stressed about, ya know, buying food for my own lunch!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Runners high, sweaters high, same diff.
Today was amazing. Saturdayyyy.
I got up kind of early for a Saturday at the end of 6 or beginning of 7 and went and painted the side of a wall for a battered women shelter with my roomie Katie and some other CY folks. It wasn't the YWCA type of place that is just one room, it was a huge complex for women and their children. It was amazing. I sweated so much and was so dirty and got paint all over me! I sweated so much being out in the hot sun, and I was lifting ladders and walking through the brambles and getting all cut up. It was a mess, but it was amazing! I was thinking the whole time, can I do this forever?? I would love to do a year of Habitat for Humanity service after college, but then I will be kind of old when I get to the real world but psh who needs a job? Hahah parents, just kidding! But really, doing outdoor working physical service is my love. So I was there from 8ish-12ish and drank a million water bottles and painted the trim of this wall.
Then we picked up another CY gal and went to get lunch. We went to Tito's, this amazing Mexican food place that the guy at Spectrum Gym had recommended. It was super good and since I hadn't had breakfast, I feasted and got a solid food baby. We were in a super cool part of town, Southtown holler. I picked up a free newspaper and saw that there were a list of events going on in the city (note to self- ALWAYS pick up free newspapers) and saw that Avenue Q was playing at a nearby theater. I have listened to the Avenue Q soundtrack since back in the day and I loved it. So I had to had to go. More on this later...
Then we went over to this place called Madhatters which had super cool artwork and little tea parties. I really want to visit there with my mother, it is her type of joint. It was a sweet vibe, we were also in this really interesting historical district of San An, where I definitely had never been and I love me some 'splorin!
I went to the library and got my library card! Yay!!! It is attached to my key ring, so now my key ring is very San Antonio. Library card, gym card, apartment key! Hooray! Then I also rented some DVDs which was cool because it was totally free and I have them for a whole week. Suck it regular DVD stores, that is way to be, go library go library go, go library go library go.
Then we all went to the pool, yay not getting burnt, and chilled there for a long time. It was so nice and this was a wonderful substitute for a shower since I was very gross from painting still.
We next went to Souper! Salad, a delicious all you can eat buffet. It's beautiful. So many bread products and veggies and fruit and wonderful beautiful food items.
I GOT FOOD STAMPS! Frustratingly so, because I still haven't turned in all of my stuff, so why did I go through all of the hassles of everything, argh the system is a fool.
Next Sarah Minshon and I ventured to Avenue Q, it was an awesome play. Puppets doing inappropriate things was awesome. It was cool because I remembered all of the songs and I had always wanted to see the show, so seeing it off Broadway was an awesome experience. I also talked to somebody about maybe working construction for the next show- ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. It's all volunteer based, and it fit in perfect with my morning of service and construction. I would be volunteering- serving, and constructing. When I told the woman I liked working on power tools, she was like "YES!". They said they are always looking for helping hands, because they really need volunteers all the time since they are a relatively new theater (5 years). It would also gain me free access to the shows! I love free things... Oh and another positive thing would be I could make friends outside of CY, which is something all the TLs recommend doing.
I am ending my evening with Napoleon Dynamite, an old classic.
Daily Hero: Free newspapers that help facilitate and build community <3
I got up kind of early for a Saturday at the end of 6 or beginning of 7 and went and painted the side of a wall for a battered women shelter with my roomie Katie and some other CY folks. It wasn't the YWCA type of place that is just one room, it was a huge complex for women and their children. It was amazing. I sweated so much and was so dirty and got paint all over me! I sweated so much being out in the hot sun, and I was lifting ladders and walking through the brambles and getting all cut up. It was a mess, but it was amazing! I was thinking the whole time, can I do this forever?? I would love to do a year of Habitat for Humanity service after college, but then I will be kind of old when I get to the real world but psh who needs a job? Hahah parents, just kidding! But really, doing outdoor working physical service is my love. So I was there from 8ish-12ish and drank a million water bottles and painted the trim of this wall.
Then we picked up another CY gal and went to get lunch. We went to Tito's, this amazing Mexican food place that the guy at Spectrum Gym had recommended. It was super good and since I hadn't had breakfast, I feasted and got a solid food baby. We were in a super cool part of town, Southtown holler. I picked up a free newspaper and saw that there were a list of events going on in the city (note to self- ALWAYS pick up free newspapers) and saw that Avenue Q was playing at a nearby theater. I have listened to the Avenue Q soundtrack since back in the day and I loved it. So I had to had to go. More on this later...
Then we went over to this place called Madhatters which had super cool artwork and little tea parties. I really want to visit there with my mother, it is her type of joint. It was a sweet vibe, we were also in this really interesting historical district of San An, where I definitely had never been and I love me some 'splorin!
I went to the library and got my library card! Yay!!! It is attached to my key ring, so now my key ring is very San Antonio. Library card, gym card, apartment key! Hooray! Then I also rented some DVDs which was cool because it was totally free and I have them for a whole week. Suck it regular DVD stores, that is way to be, go library go library go, go library go library go.
Then we all went to the pool, yay not getting burnt, and chilled there for a long time. It was so nice and this was a wonderful substitute for a shower since I was very gross from painting still.
We next went to Souper! Salad, a delicious all you can eat buffet. It's beautiful. So many bread products and veggies and fruit and wonderful beautiful food items.
I GOT FOOD STAMPS! Frustratingly so, because I still haven't turned in all of my stuff, so why did I go through all of the hassles of everything, argh the system is a fool.
Next Sarah Minshon and I ventured to Avenue Q, it was an awesome play. Puppets doing inappropriate things was awesome. It was cool because I remembered all of the songs and I had always wanted to see the show, so seeing it off Broadway was an awesome experience. I also talked to somebody about maybe working construction for the next show- ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. It's all volunteer based, and it fit in perfect with my morning of service and construction. I would be volunteering- serving, and constructing. When I told the woman I liked working on power tools, she was like "YES!". They said they are always looking for helping hands, because they really need volunteers all the time since they are a relatively new theater (5 years). It would also gain me free access to the shows! I love free things... Oh and another positive thing would be I could make friends outside of CY, which is something all the TLs recommend doing.
I am ending my evening with Napoleon Dynamite, an old classic.
Daily Hero: Free newspapers that help facilitate and build community <3
Friday, August 19, 2011
Cougars!
1. The past two days I've worked for 12 hours. Blogging has had to be re-prioritized behind sleep.
2. When we went to SJ Davis to present to the teachers, we drew tears.
3. I love my team.
4. When we went to SJ Davis the next day, they had citeyarized their speech and incorporated "fired up" to be a new school chant!
5. Power greeting is such an adrenaline rush.
6. Getting food stamps is hard because apparently the person who was supposed to help me, delegated my case to a not so nice case worker. Disaster ensues. I am now an expert at using the CY office fax machine.
7. I went to a press conference at Sam Houston and it was very fun, the Spurs mascot was there!
8. A guy who was arrested earlier was let back into the program after 17 days incarcerated.
9. This guy came and talked to us!: http://tedxstlouis.com/speakers/andre-norman/
9a. I have now personally interacted with two people who have had Ted Talks (SUCCESS)
10. Maybe one day I will have a Ted Talk, that would be cool.
11. Red wine vinegar is a quick fix solution for any issue you may be encountering with your ear canal.
Daily(s) Hero: Everyone at Davis for being so welcoming to City Year. Since Davis' slogan is "A New Day at Davis" and Davis is attempting a mass reform, it is the perfect partnership at the perfect time.
2. When we went to SJ Davis to present to the teachers, we drew tears.
3. I love my team.
4. When we went to SJ Davis the next day, they had citeyarized their speech and incorporated "fired up" to be a new school chant!
5. Power greeting is such an adrenaline rush.
6. Getting food stamps is hard because apparently the person who was supposed to help me, delegated my case to a not so nice case worker. Disaster ensues. I am now an expert at using the CY office fax machine.
7. I went to a press conference at Sam Houston and it was very fun, the Spurs mascot was there!
8. A guy who was arrested earlier was let back into the program after 17 days incarcerated.
9. This guy came and talked to us!: http://tedxstlouis.com/speakers/andre-norman/
9a. I have now personally interacted with two people who have had Ted Talks (SUCCESS)
10. Maybe one day I will have a Ted Talk, that would be cool.
11. Red wine vinegar is a quick fix solution for any issue you may be encountering with your ear canal.
Daily(s) Hero: Everyone at Davis for being so welcoming to City Year. Since Davis' slogan is "A New Day at Davis" and Davis is attempting a mass reform, it is the perfect partnership at the perfect time.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I Serve...
At CYSA we are all expected to have a type of mission statement, a why I serve statement, today I made mine:
I serve because I am inspired by the City Year movement: young adults helping students become the next generation of leaders. We might not be able to change the whole world, but even changing just one world will make some sort of difference to someone. I aim to pass the torch of inspiration from one human being to the next.
Daily Hero: The family I saw sitting quietly in the park, enjoying the last few days of summer. I am so so excited for school to start I had almost forgotten what most students feel as the summer comes to a close, some sort of dread and nervous energy. I hope to try and keep this in mind for my first day, that everyone is coming from a different mindset on August 22nd.
I serve because I am inspired by the City Year movement: young adults helping students become the next generation of leaders. We might not be able to change the whole world, but even changing just one world will make some sort of difference to someone. I aim to pass the torch of inspiration from one human being to the next.
Daily Hero: The family I saw sitting quietly in the park, enjoying the last few days of summer. I am so so excited for school to start I had almost forgotten what most students feel as the summer comes to a close, some sort of dread and nervous energy. I hope to try and keep this in mind for my first day, that everyone is coming from a different mindset on August 22nd.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Stonewall Jackson Davis Middle School!!!
I found out my school team today! We tied balloons to our legs and inside the balloons were pieces of a puzzle which said the names of our schools and who was on our team! These are the people and the place I will be spending about 99% of the rest of my year with, so this was a big huge deal
SJ Davis is a first year CY partnership and on the Eastside which are both things that I really really wanted in a school but didn't put on my application, because I knew I'd be put where I fit best, luckily where I fit best is what I truly wanted.
I wanted a first year CY partnership, because I wanted more of a challenge, not some place where I could easily slide in as just another year of corps members, but a place where I could really shake things up and prove my worth.
I wanted to be on the Eastside because the Eastside is a promise neighborhood. The promise neighborhoods are neighborhoods that are based off the Harlem Promise Neighborhood. It was a neighborhood established by a man with a long term vision. Mothers are given access to prenatal health care, and taught basic child raising tips, such as how often to read to your child and when you should expect the child to begin speaking. The children go to excellent charter schools and are given amazing educational opportunities. Then they are strongly encouraged to go to college and come back to live in the community and strengthen their community in a way that only current communities have the ability to go. President Barak Obama was so impressed with the plans for the Harlem Promise Neighborhood that he offered the opportunity for some select neighborhoods to be given mass amount of funding to create multiple promise neighborhoods. The Eastside was awarded this funding! This is such a powerful movement to be apart of and I feel inspired every time I think about it. The Eastside is most definitely the place to be!
At SJ Davis, as far as I know, I will be working with 7th and 8th graders. The racial make up is about 51% latino, 48% black, and 3% minorities, I will definitely be the minority in this situation (which I am so excited about!!!). We also have the total freedom to start our own after school programs totally personalized! After I saw that, my mind began to race, women empowerment, outside adventures, slam poetry, maybe all three! I am so excited, because an after school program based outdoor therapy is all I want to do!
I also love my team! It is made up of all people that I have wanted to work with and no people are people that I have thought at some point, "ehh, I don't know how working with them would go". We all seem to vibe very well and I am so so so so excited.
Today once we got our schools we did a lot of team bonding and with our team we drove around the school and the Eastside and where the neighborhood is that the students will be coming from. There are a lot of project areas, but they seem to be very well kept up. Home front pride is very important and there are mostly family businesses. We also went to an H-E-B in that neighborhood. My inner (not so inner) sociology nerd came out and I immediately started noticing the people shopping there and what was different than other grocery stores I'd been to. One very very noticeable difference was that there was a whole aisle taken up with ramen, very cheap very unhealthy food, that tells me something immediately.
Tomorrow we are going to hopefully get our foot in the door at SJ Davis and have lunch at apparently a classic Eastside diner with a mural painted by students in the back. Eastside! Strongside!
After work I was feeling kind of stressed and overwhelmed so I went to the gym and did about 45 minutes of elipticaling at an incline. That was amazing because
1. I got to watch an Obama speech, analysis of different presidential candidates and Jersey Shore, while burning calories.
2. And I seemed to sweat out any of my non-positive feelings.
After a delicious dinner of stir fried vegetables, avocado, and pasta sauce, I am looking forward to an early bed time. One of my multiple goals for this year of service (ya know, besides serving!) is to have an earlier bedtime during the week. I am going to have such long days that I will need all the sleep I can get!
Daily Hero: Whoever at City Year thought it would be a fantastic idea for every team to visit the local grocery store, totally understands my life and very not inner sociology nerd.
SJ Davis is a first year CY partnership and on the Eastside which are both things that I really really wanted in a school but didn't put on my application, because I knew I'd be put where I fit best, luckily where I fit best is what I truly wanted.
I wanted a first year CY partnership, because I wanted more of a challenge, not some place where I could easily slide in as just another year of corps members, but a place where I could really shake things up and prove my worth.
I wanted to be on the Eastside because the Eastside is a promise neighborhood. The promise neighborhoods are neighborhoods that are based off the Harlem Promise Neighborhood. It was a neighborhood established by a man with a long term vision. Mothers are given access to prenatal health care, and taught basic child raising tips, such as how often to read to your child and when you should expect the child to begin speaking. The children go to excellent charter schools and are given amazing educational opportunities. Then they are strongly encouraged to go to college and come back to live in the community and strengthen their community in a way that only current communities have the ability to go. President Barak Obama was so impressed with the plans for the Harlem Promise Neighborhood that he offered the opportunity for some select neighborhoods to be given mass amount of funding to create multiple promise neighborhoods. The Eastside was awarded this funding! This is such a powerful movement to be apart of and I feel inspired every time I think about it. The Eastside is most definitely the place to be!
At SJ Davis, as far as I know, I will be working with 7th and 8th graders. The racial make up is about 51% latino, 48% black, and 3% minorities, I will definitely be the minority in this situation (which I am so excited about!!!). We also have the total freedom to start our own after school programs totally personalized! After I saw that, my mind began to race, women empowerment, outside adventures, slam poetry, maybe all three! I am so excited, because an after school program based outdoor therapy is all I want to do!
I also love my team! It is made up of all people that I have wanted to work with and no people are people that I have thought at some point, "ehh, I don't know how working with them would go". We all seem to vibe very well and I am so so so so excited.
Today once we got our schools we did a lot of team bonding and with our team we drove around the school and the Eastside and where the neighborhood is that the students will be coming from. There are a lot of project areas, but they seem to be very well kept up. Home front pride is very important and there are mostly family businesses. We also went to an H-E-B in that neighborhood. My inner (not so inner) sociology nerd came out and I immediately started noticing the people shopping there and what was different than other grocery stores I'd been to. One very very noticeable difference was that there was a whole aisle taken up with ramen, very cheap very unhealthy food, that tells me something immediately.
Tomorrow we are going to hopefully get our foot in the door at SJ Davis and have lunch at apparently a classic Eastside diner with a mural painted by students in the back. Eastside! Strongside!
After work I was feeling kind of stressed and overwhelmed so I went to the gym and did about 45 minutes of elipticaling at an incline. That was amazing because
1. I got to watch an Obama speech, analysis of different presidential candidates and Jersey Shore, while burning calories.
2. And I seemed to sweat out any of my non-positive feelings.
After a delicious dinner of stir fried vegetables, avocado, and pasta sauce, I am looking forward to an early bed time. One of my multiple goals for this year of service (ya know, besides serving!) is to have an earlier bedtime during the week. I am going to have such long days that I will need all the sleep I can get!
Daily Hero: Whoever at City Year thought it would be a fantastic idea for every team to visit the local grocery store, totally understands my life and very not inner sociology nerd.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
"Emirry?" "Herrow?"- Zee Weekend
So, funny story, I was really thinking of applying to UT-Austin. I'd filled out the entire application and it was just waiting to be sent. I think there was no application fee, I have no idea why I didn't send it, something about the fact that I couldn't see myself EVER living in Texas... life is silly like that.
I tell this funny intro story because this weekend I took a roomie (+Logan, our gay sailor navy friend) hipster road trip to AUSTIN! I loved it so much. If it were 20 degrees colder all of the time I would 100% be moving to Austin in a hot second.
We all dressed up as hipsters and set out to Austin on Saturday at about 11. I was looking super artsy and different in my sleeveless hoodie, Nike kicks, and scarf in over 100 degree weather. We stopped at the outlet mall on our way out of town to get Sarah some poppin' dancin' clothes and super cute shoes and we were stopped by a saleswoman who said- "You guys are so stylish, I wish I could dress like that all the time", the only I could think is.. "I want to tell her the truth..". But it was so fun to have a theme day. Some of my favorite days of high school was when I dressed up in a ridiculous fashion with amigos.
Then we got to Austin and checked into La Quinta Inn and dropped our stuff and went to 'splor in Austin. We checked out the Museum of the Weird and Bizarre, in which we saw several mummies and shrunken heads of various nature. This was very strange and mostly fake but it was so cool because we saw a HUGE lizard, it was one of the bigger reptiles I'd ever seen. Then we went to Tears of Joy, a place filled to the brim with hot and Tabasco sauce. Since my room mate Emily is obsessed with Tabsco, we just HAD to go! I myself am not a huge fan of the hot stuff, so I settled down with some free chips and some Southwest cook books, it was a challenge to restrain myself from buying several. Then Logan tried this concentrated hot stuff extract and it brought tears of not joy, but pain to his eyes. It was apparently super super hot and he only had a little bit on a toothpick. We got to talking to the woman at the register whose name was Joy (get the name of the restaurant now!), she owns the restaurant and claimed to be almost 67 but she stayed young through a lot of hot sauce consumption. After our hot sauce fest, we ventured to the Austin river walk. This is a small little river of trickling water, which you could hop across and had rocks throughout it, so we took a lot of hipster pics. Next we went to this absolutely amazing burger joint, Casino al Camino. My burger was literally as large as my head! Then we went back to La Quinta and got ready to go out. We all were fancied up and we went to an 80s night club, a gay bar, and a Bat Bar. Many adventures were had and inside jokes formed. I took my first ride inside a pedi cab and went inside a food truck and a room filled with rainbows in the gay bar. Austin nightlife/ just 6th street nightlife was amazing and almost no places had any cover. The people were so fun to talk to
After a long, long, long sleep-in in the morning, watching Eclipse and some hotel breakfast we took off from La Quinta Inn. We went to this amazing amazing amazing Thai Food from a food truck and delicious cake balls! Then we drove home, it was about an hour drive and I will definitely be making that trip multiple times for the rest of the year. I also decided that maybe coming home from Texas I will do a real real road trip and stop at exciting places, not just do the straight 20 hours.
All in all it was a lazy Sunday. Apartment cleaning, nail painting, grocery shopping, nothing big. Exciting news is sure to come tomorrow since I will be finding out what school I will be placed at and who my team mates will be, which determines about 99% of the CY experience. I AM SO EXCITED. I know where ever I'll be it will be amazingly fun and a memorable year of service. And really when it comes down to it, I am here for the kids. And kids need help errywhere.
Daily Hero: The fact that Texas is so wonderfully diverse and each city has such a different vibrant personality. Also the fact that Austin is such a short easy drive.
I tell this funny intro story because this weekend I took a roomie (+Logan, our gay sailor navy friend) hipster road trip to AUSTIN! I loved it so much. If it were 20 degrees colder all of the time I would 100% be moving to Austin in a hot second.
We all dressed up as hipsters and set out to Austin on Saturday at about 11. I was looking super artsy and different in my sleeveless hoodie, Nike kicks, and scarf in over 100 degree weather. We stopped at the outlet mall on our way out of town to get Sarah some poppin' dancin' clothes and super cute shoes and we were stopped by a saleswoman who said- "You guys are so stylish, I wish I could dress like that all the time", the only I could think is.. "I want to tell her the truth..". But it was so fun to have a theme day. Some of my favorite days of high school was when I dressed up in a ridiculous fashion with amigos.
Then we got to Austin and checked into La Quinta Inn and dropped our stuff and went to 'splor in Austin. We checked out the Museum of the Weird and Bizarre, in which we saw several mummies and shrunken heads of various nature. This was very strange and mostly fake but it was so cool because we saw a HUGE lizard, it was one of the bigger reptiles I'd ever seen. Then we went to Tears of Joy, a place filled to the brim with hot and Tabasco sauce. Since my room mate Emily is obsessed with Tabsco, we just HAD to go! I myself am not a huge fan of the hot stuff, so I settled down with some free chips and some Southwest cook books, it was a challenge to restrain myself from buying several. Then Logan tried this concentrated hot stuff extract and it brought tears of not joy, but pain to his eyes. It was apparently super super hot and he only had a little bit on a toothpick. We got to talking to the woman at the register whose name was Joy (get the name of the restaurant now!), she owns the restaurant and claimed to be almost 67 but she stayed young through a lot of hot sauce consumption. After our hot sauce fest, we ventured to the Austin river walk. This is a small little river of trickling water, which you could hop across and had rocks throughout it, so we took a lot of hipster pics. Next we went to this absolutely amazing burger joint, Casino al Camino. My burger was literally as large as my head! Then we went back to La Quinta and got ready to go out. We all were fancied up and we went to an 80s night club, a gay bar, and a Bat Bar. Many adventures were had and inside jokes formed. I took my first ride inside a pedi cab and went inside a food truck and a room filled with rainbows in the gay bar. Austin nightlife/ just 6th street nightlife was amazing and almost no places had any cover. The people were so fun to talk to
After a long, long, long sleep-in in the morning, watching Eclipse and some hotel breakfast we took off from La Quinta Inn. We went to this amazing amazing amazing Thai Food from a food truck and delicious cake balls! Then we drove home, it was about an hour drive and I will definitely be making that trip multiple times for the rest of the year. I also decided that maybe coming home from Texas I will do a real real road trip and stop at exciting places, not just do the straight 20 hours.
All in all it was a lazy Sunday. Apartment cleaning, nail painting, grocery shopping, nothing big. Exciting news is sure to come tomorrow since I will be finding out what school I will be placed at and who my team mates will be, which determines about 99% of the CY experience. I AM SO EXCITED. I know where ever I'll be it will be amazingly fun and a memorable year of service. And really when it comes down to it, I am here for the kids. And kids need help errywhere.
Daily Hero: The fact that Texas is so wonderfully diverse and each city has such a different vibrant personality. Also the fact that Austin is such a short easy drive.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Ida Eisenhower
I went to sleep early early Thursday night, which caused my body to awaken several times before my pre appointed wake up time on Friday morning. Because of all of this rampant activity in waking and sleeping and living and dreaming, my head shot from my pillow, not at 4:45 for gym time, but at 5:30ish.
I went over to the gym, not mine, but one where I received a 30 day pass. The quality of the service and shampoo swayed me somewhere else, and since I was interested in circuit not lap swimming, it was an easy decision to have created somewhere in the abyss of my, tired and most certainly not free from spots type of, mind.
At the place of my circuit engaging I ran into a room mate and a very muscular elderly sir. He lifted about four times my weight and was probably close to four times my age. His muscles burst from elastic colorful shorts and I wondered if Texas is the new Florida in terms of elderly folks. Spectrum does have a high senior population, but this was my first encounter with a swole senior, and he intimidated me because of the fact that he knew more, could bench more, and was superior in mind and body in most ways.
After a gym encounter, it was off to a day of training in the Lady of the Lake university, where ducks and turkeys and mixes of the two, blocked my vehicle and forced me to look out onto the pond which the school derived it's name. It is a nice lake/pond, but it makes me wish I was back in the place where I always knew which way was East because of the beautiful body of water that shaped my childhood.
An uneventful morning and an afternoon filled of shouting and candy and enthusiasm and repping teams, because this is my last day in the crazy team, soon to discover the school and the people and the children where I will spend the majority of my time for the remainder of the year. Speaking of remainders, our subject for the day was math in which I recall I learned how to multiply only with a box and division I learned not 'til 10th grade when a caring math teacher showed me some tricks. I excelled in explaining but still worry about my capacity for longly dividing and finding remainders.
Training had ceased for the week, with a time card approved I headed home to a sweet air conditioned paradise. I got home, got a talk with a younger more mature boy version of me who enjoyed the same trip, but with different joys and concerns.
I got all fancied up to hit up the verse of the 2nd. First time rocking in jeans in SanAn, better than I expected because soon I'll be fully accustomed to the weather. Getting there hours early resulted in engaged conversations about life at the present and concerns and plans for future endeavors. I chatted on the phone with a dear friend and she injected a shot of inspiration into my veins, wanting to represent for all poets who weren't here but not by choice. I signed my name on the list, 17th was my number out of 25.
A cool drink and
watching stellar performances and
a man who removed his shirt as he sang soulful music to the crowd
and line dancing (which I hope to pursue every Thursday and Sunday eve)
and a quick nap
but then a shot of energy as (soda entered my throat)
and as poets took the stage and rocked out in front of the mic, in front of the audience, in front of me, in front of everyone in the world who was here. Was there.
I jittered as the MC read, four more left. My name rang out as closing and my body and mind and heart were racing. A shout out to the Caucasians from Mrs. MC because apparently we were representing in some strong numbers that night.
My poem after some initial hesitation rocked the house, with snaps and applauses and "mmhmms" there is no way that is my last time there. Next time I'll know where to sit, and have a new poem to spit, but every second Friday my priority will be with this place that welcomed me with open arms and an open mic.
A three pound cinnamon roll to finish up the night was not too shabby either and a full 8 hours of pillow time really got me pumped for my Saturday...
Daily Hero: Every scene that attracts such a diverse crowd as second verse. All races and genders seemed to be there, all supporting poetrizzle.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Okay, let's go, NOW
Post for Thursday 8/11/11
We learned about some killer tutoring skills today and more importantly I had an important moment with the television. hahah.
My room mates and I were vegging out on the carpeted floor watching 'So You Think You Can Dance'. We were all super exhausted and just hanging out after a super long day of work and after I had gone for a nice afternoon swim.
There was a commercial break and suddenly an image of a child with a cleft lip sprung across the screen...
I decided then and there that whatever this commercial was going to ask me, I was going to immediately do it. I watch enough commercials about tragic topics that don't affect me, and I wanted to help! This time I would not succumb to a cold heart. A couple more images flashed across the screen, sad injured children, suddenly being cured.
Then suddenly a sign flashed across the screen in big red letters-
CHILDREN'S MIRACLE DAY, HAPPENING AUGUST 11 AT A DAIRY QUEEN NEAR YOU, COME OUT NOW AND SUPPORT CHILDREN.
Immediately all three of us made eye contact, said "Let's go". In less than ten seconds, we were out the door and on our way to the car.
It was so impulsive and the fastest I've ever been able to get out of the door to get to anything.
This impulsive, exhausted, super fun moment was exactly the moment that summed up my day.
Let us hear it for limited responsibility!
Daily hero: The women behind the women's rights movement, without them I'd probably be married off at this point with probably at least several children. Instead I can participate in amazing programs such as CY and be able to have amazing spontaneous room mate adventures with no responsibility and cares in the world.
We learned about some killer tutoring skills today and more importantly I had an important moment with the television. hahah.
My room mates and I were vegging out on the carpeted floor watching 'So You Think You Can Dance'. We were all super exhausted and just hanging out after a super long day of work and after I had gone for a nice afternoon swim.
There was a commercial break and suddenly an image of a child with a cleft lip sprung across the screen...
I decided then and there that whatever this commercial was going to ask me, I was going to immediately do it. I watch enough commercials about tragic topics that don't affect me, and I wanted to help! This time I would not succumb to a cold heart. A couple more images flashed across the screen, sad injured children, suddenly being cured.
Then suddenly a sign flashed across the screen in big red letters-
CHILDREN'S MIRACLE DAY, HAPPENING AUGUST 11 AT A DAIRY QUEEN NEAR YOU, COME OUT NOW AND SUPPORT CHILDREN.
Immediately all three of us made eye contact, said "Let's go". In less than ten seconds, we were out the door and on our way to the car.
It was so impulsive and the fastest I've ever been able to get out of the door to get to anything.
This impulsive, exhausted, super fun moment was exactly the moment that summed up my day.
Let us hear it for limited responsibility!
Daily hero: The women behind the women's rights movement, without them I'd probably be married off at this point with probably at least several children. Instead I can participate in amazing programs such as CY and be able to have amazing spontaneous room mate adventures with no responsibility and cares in the world.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Better Than Rectum
Beeee Teee Arrrr'!
It was fantastic! Three days without blogging was kind of weird, I strangely enough missed blogging. It's definitely different than journaling or poem-ing.
My top moments from the last three days:
4. I had an awesome phone call with my dad this evening. It was nice catching up with someone from home, even if he is closer to Texas currently than he is to IL. My dad and I are not big phone talkers, so this was a big deal.
3. We went to this beautiful river and it was the absolute perfect temperature. We jumped from high up cliffs and swam with fishes. The sun began to set and it the absolutely most perfect place in the world to do backstroke. An amazing blue sky, no sun glare glinting in my retinas, just me and the world and the water. It was amazingly cool. I LOVE NATURE.
2. We did something called the privilege line, which I had done before, but had added up the tally and then gotten into a line instead of physically taking steps forward. The line itself was powerful but my group's debrief was absolutely amazing. People shared some immensely personal things and I was absolutely inspired by the powerful stories people shared. I also felt some awesome emotions, things I did not expect and things that were welcome and unwelcome. I felt so comfortable in that environment and everyone else seemed to feel comfortable as well. Usually debriefs are kind of silly and seem unnecessary after a certain point in my mind, but this one was amazing and so deep.
1. At the end of the trip, our very last team activities was doing appreciations. We sectioned off the corps members into four groups and we all sat in four corners of the pavilion. Three fourths of us would sit with our eyes closed and as two of the TL's read off statements such as "Tap a person who you think will change the world" and "Tap someone who you've had an awesome conversation with", one fourth of the group would go around and tap people with their eyes closed. It is hard to describe just how appreciated I felt, it was amazing. The breeze was blowing in my hair and across the top of my skin. I was lying on a beautiful cold wooden floor and I felt so at peace. This is the feeling I want to hold onto for the rest of my time at City Year, the amazing feeling of being appreciated, feeling that everyone has the capacity to change the world, and being so at peace with myself and the place I've decided to spend my time.
Hero of these days: Herbert E. Butt, for generously letting CY use the campground for free! Also having an amazing acronym that if you say fast enough sounds an awful lot like itchy butt. Just saying... But I love me some HE Butt
It was fantastic! Three days without blogging was kind of weird, I strangely enough missed blogging. It's definitely different than journaling or poem-ing.
My top moments from the last three days:
4. I had an awesome phone call with my dad this evening. It was nice catching up with someone from home, even if he is closer to Texas currently than he is to IL. My dad and I are not big phone talkers, so this was a big deal.
3. We went to this beautiful river and it was the absolute perfect temperature. We jumped from high up cliffs and swam with fishes. The sun began to set and it the absolutely most perfect place in the world to do backstroke. An amazing blue sky, no sun glare glinting in my retinas, just me and the world and the water. It was amazingly cool. I LOVE NATURE.
2. We did something called the privilege line, which I had done before, but had added up the tally and then gotten into a line instead of physically taking steps forward. The line itself was powerful but my group's debrief was absolutely amazing. People shared some immensely personal things and I was absolutely inspired by the powerful stories people shared. I also felt some awesome emotions, things I did not expect and things that were welcome and unwelcome. I felt so comfortable in that environment and everyone else seemed to feel comfortable as well. Usually debriefs are kind of silly and seem unnecessary after a certain point in my mind, but this one was amazing and so deep.
1. At the end of the trip, our very last team activities was doing appreciations. We sectioned off the corps members into four groups and we all sat in four corners of the pavilion. Three fourths of us would sit with our eyes closed and as two of the TL's read off statements such as "Tap a person who you think will change the world" and "Tap someone who you've had an awesome conversation with", one fourth of the group would go around and tap people with their eyes closed. It is hard to describe just how appreciated I felt, it was amazing. The breeze was blowing in my hair and across the top of my skin. I was lying on a beautiful cold wooden floor and I felt so at peace. This is the feeling I want to hold onto for the rest of my time at City Year, the amazing feeling of being appreciated, feeling that everyone has the capacity to change the world, and being so at peace with myself and the place I've decided to spend my time.
Hero of these days: Herbert E. Butt, for generously letting CY use the campground for free! Also having an amazing acronym that if you say fast enough sounds an awful lot like itchy butt. Just saying... But I love me some HE Butt
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Mongorians!
Today was so relaxing and amazing. Poetry seems like a good way to end this Sunday.
Everyone thinks you need a wild story to have an amazing time
But sometimes it's nice to just sit and soak up the second half of the lime
Maybe it's grocery shopping or having a clean bed to sleep in
But sometime those are the days where I realize my life is made of a stronger metal than just tin
A soak in the pool or a strange dinner with friends
The world of a relaxed day has no limits or untied ends
Blogging for days in a row makes for some scatter brained moments
But there is no need at this time for my emotions to be in the tone of laments
Usually my poems lack a rhyme structure
But for this one, I'm inspired by the diligence of those who muster
They serve our country, strong and true
And in the ways of Texas, I dedicate this poem to you.
Daily Hero: Those who sacrifice their lives, social and literally so all of us can live in safety. This should go without saying everyday, but sometimes this feeling of these heroes in my life is more present than others.
PS. I'm heading off to BTR (Basic Training Retreat), where no electronics and few showers exist, so I won't be blogging for a couple days. Hopefully, undoubtedly, I will have some amazing stories to tell when I get back!
Everyone thinks you need a wild story to have an amazing time
But sometimes it's nice to just sit and soak up the second half of the lime
Maybe it's grocery shopping or having a clean bed to sleep in
But sometime those are the days where I realize my life is made of a stronger metal than just tin
A soak in the pool or a strange dinner with friends
The world of a relaxed day has no limits or untied ends
Blogging for days in a row makes for some scatter brained moments
But there is no need at this time for my emotions to be in the tone of laments
Usually my poems lack a rhyme structure
But for this one, I'm inspired by the diligence of those who muster
They serve our country, strong and true
And in the ways of Texas, I dedicate this poem to you.
Daily Hero: Those who sacrifice their lives, social and literally so all of us can live in safety. This should go without saying everyday, but sometimes this feeling of these heroes in my life is more present than others.
PS. I'm heading off to BTR (Basic Training Retreat), where no electronics and few showers exist, so I won't be blogging for a couple days. Hopefully, undoubtedly, I will have some amazing stories to tell when I get back!
Chick-Fil-A+
I think I have fully realized how much of a Texas gal I am at heart based off this day.
We got up pretty early and drove to CC to retrieve Katie's car, and on the way back I stopped at a gas station and got a Big Red- a classic Southern beverage, right up there with sweet tea (it tasted more like juicy fruit than Big Read gum, but very delicious), then we stopped at Chick-Fil-A. It is probably in my top five favorite restaurants, and it was super cheap because it's fast food. It was strange, roomies and I were all sitting there saying, this stuff really tastes like chicken, which makes we wonder- what do all other fast food chicken nuggets taste like? Ew. I will never go back to any other fast food place after experiencing the magic of Chick-Fil-A.
After getting back to SanAn, we hit up Target and Bank of America, and organized our room and cleaned up the apartment. My room actually has decoration now and organization! It's a big step in the right direction.
Then we hit up a BBQ that a fellow CY gal was having and I had a delicious burger and experienced ladder golf. Ladder golf is where there are small ladders positioned about 20 feet away from each other and you have to throw two tied together golf balls in an attempt to get them to land on the little ladder. It's a typical backyard summer game, a more chill example of croquet perhaps.
Then we went back to the room and met up with Emily and three of her navy friends, navy, not army as I was constantly corrected. I need to get more informed on my military terms if I am to thrive in Texas. We next headed to Cowboys Dance Hall, it was so fun! I dressed up as a cowgirl and two-stepped the night away. I also rode a mechanical bull for a whole 7 seconds, now I can cross that off my bucket list! But I'm sure that won't be my last time frequenting Cowboys. The country tunes were enough that I would go back every weekend!
Daily Hero: It's a tie between the mechanical bull operator who let me ride for free because I had just moved to Texas or to the CY person who held the BBQ, it was such a fun and relaxing atmosphere, and the perfect way to mingle with people in a carefree way on the weekend.
We got up pretty early and drove to CC to retrieve Katie's car, and on the way back I stopped at a gas station and got a Big Red- a classic Southern beverage, right up there with sweet tea (it tasted more like juicy fruit than Big Read gum, but very delicious), then we stopped at Chick-Fil-A. It is probably in my top five favorite restaurants, and it was super cheap because it's fast food. It was strange, roomies and I were all sitting there saying, this stuff really tastes like chicken, which makes we wonder- what do all other fast food chicken nuggets taste like? Ew. I will never go back to any other fast food place after experiencing the magic of Chick-Fil-A.
After getting back to SanAn, we hit up Target and Bank of America, and organized our room and cleaned up the apartment. My room actually has decoration now and organization! It's a big step in the right direction.
Then we hit up a BBQ that a fellow CY gal was having and I had a delicious burger and experienced ladder golf. Ladder golf is where there are small ladders positioned about 20 feet away from each other and you have to throw two tied together golf balls in an attempt to get them to land on the little ladder. It's a typical backyard summer game, a more chill example of croquet perhaps.
Then we went back to the room and met up with Emily and three of her navy friends, navy, not army as I was constantly corrected. I need to get more informed on my military terms if I am to thrive in Texas. We next headed to Cowboys Dance Hall, it was so fun! I dressed up as a cowgirl and two-stepped the night away. I also rode a mechanical bull for a whole 7 seconds, now I can cross that off my bucket list! But I'm sure that won't be my last time frequenting Cowboys. The country tunes were enough that I would go back every weekend!
Daily Hero: It's a tie between the mechanical bull operator who let me ride for free because I had just moved to Texas or to the CY person who held the BBQ, it was such a fun and relaxing atmosphere, and the perfect way to mingle with people in a carefree way on the weekend.
Buenos Noches Gorilla
Friday we woke up later than usual, like 7ish or 8 and headed over to the gym. I did a killer circuit workout surrounded by very muscular old people. I even did it Evanston Swim Team style, with machines and then exercises in between.
Then it was time for my little locker room fiasco, I had messed up putting in my locker combo, so I asked the front desk person to come up and unlock my locker. Turns out I was at the wrong locker, rough. Then when I was shaving I got a HUGE abrasion on my leg, this was far past a little shaving nick, so I was bleeding everywhere. I also had forgotten my tank top, so I decided to cut my sweaty tee shirt and turn it inside out. So I returned to the front desk to ask for scissors and several band aids. The woman just looked at me thinking something along the lines of, I don't even want to know.
But everything all worked out and we hit San Antonio at about 1030, found a Starbucks and were then asked about City Year because of our matching uniforms. I love giving my "elevator speech", even if I've already had to give it about a million times. It makes me feel proud knowing that I'm a part of this movement to change education for the better.
So we then arrived at the prestigious PGA golf course JW Marriot where we'd be spending the rest of our day. We were there for a couple hours just setting up the camp for the Nat'l Down Syndrome Conference children and then they provided us with lunch and some minor training. It was super relaxed and very chill (because of the lots of AC) compared to our week of training. I also had a stellar conversation with one of the TLs about nature and outdoor education and adventure therapy, I love talking about things I'm passionate about, and those topics definitely make me feel passionate.
Then it was time at about 3 for the camp to start. Two other corp members and I would be in charge of a group of 18-20 6-7 year olds, those with Down Syndrome, and siblings of those children. Our group was named the Sharks and we were so excited to teach them the baby shark song. The first child showed up and I immediately adjusted my expectations. The child had no interest in sitting and singing, he/she wanted to explore! And wanted to explore absolutely everything at a run! It took three of us to keep tabs on this one child, and that was just the beginning. Basically once all of the kids had arrived it was mass chaos, children were escaping, two children in my group could only speak in Spanish, so I tried to read them very basic children books in Espanol- such as Buenos Noches Gorilla. That was an interesting experience, me in broken Spanish reading buenos noches gorilla, buenos noches leon, buenos noches todos animales, as hundreds of childrens ran everywhere. Eventually when we stopped trying to keep them in our groups and just organized the children by activity, things ran A LITTLE more smoothly. But it was still a disaster, but I think the children had fun and the parents were able to attend their meetings without constant interruption, and I guess those were the goals of the camp, so SUCCESS!
By 7:00, when the camp was supposed to have ended we are all absolutely exhausted from running around and my pants were more spit and snot than khaki, but there were still most of the kids there. One of the people in charge called a corp member meeting, he apologized because we were supposed to easily be out of there by 7:30, but some parents had gotten confused or something, so he was asking for volunteers to stay later and help, but wanted us to feel no pressure to stay, senior corps and staff would be staying and could (probably) handle it. He ended his little speech with "Kids won this one guys, kids one point" and a silent break.
My roomies and I decided to stay and help clean up and we waited til all the kids had been picked up which was at about 8:45! The JW Marriot was beautiful but I was ready to go home. We got home at like 9ish and made a beautiful White Pizza, with pesto and lots of veggies, and by the time that was made, there was no way I was going out I was exhausted. Roomizz and I watched Sex Change Hospital, Dinner with Cannibals and then fell asleep during Whose Line is it Anyways on the living room floor. An exhausting day to end a tiring week, but very super fun.
Daily Hero: There was one kid who I had been with all day and he/she was very challenging. The kid did not speak English and loved to run everywhere chasing anyone looking for the next fun thing to do. Most parents when they picked up their child were in a rush and kind of just grabbed the kid and rushed off. This parent stopped me, help my hands in theirs and looked into my eyes and thanked me for watching their child, how much it meant to them. I was truly inspired and it made all of my hard work 110% worth it.
Then it was time for my little locker room fiasco, I had messed up putting in my locker combo, so I asked the front desk person to come up and unlock my locker. Turns out I was at the wrong locker, rough. Then when I was shaving I got a HUGE abrasion on my leg, this was far past a little shaving nick, so I was bleeding everywhere. I also had forgotten my tank top, so I decided to cut my sweaty tee shirt and turn it inside out. So I returned to the front desk to ask for scissors and several band aids. The woman just looked at me thinking something along the lines of, I don't even want to know.
But everything all worked out and we hit San Antonio at about 1030, found a Starbucks and were then asked about City Year because of our matching uniforms. I love giving my "elevator speech", even if I've already had to give it about a million times. It makes me feel proud knowing that I'm a part of this movement to change education for the better.
So we then arrived at the prestigious PGA golf course JW Marriot where we'd be spending the rest of our day. We were there for a couple hours just setting up the camp for the Nat'l Down Syndrome Conference children and then they provided us with lunch and some minor training. It was super relaxed and very chill (because of the lots of AC) compared to our week of training. I also had a stellar conversation with one of the TLs about nature and outdoor education and adventure therapy, I love talking about things I'm passionate about, and those topics definitely make me feel passionate.
Then it was time at about 3 for the camp to start. Two other corp members and I would be in charge of a group of 18-20 6-7 year olds, those with Down Syndrome, and siblings of those children. Our group was named the Sharks and we were so excited to teach them the baby shark song. The first child showed up and I immediately adjusted my expectations. The child had no interest in sitting and singing, he/she wanted to explore! And wanted to explore absolutely everything at a run! It took three of us to keep tabs on this one child, and that was just the beginning. Basically once all of the kids had arrived it was mass chaos, children were escaping, two children in my group could only speak in Spanish, so I tried to read them very basic children books in Espanol- such as Buenos Noches Gorilla. That was an interesting experience, me in broken Spanish reading buenos noches gorilla, buenos noches leon, buenos noches todos animales, as hundreds of childrens ran everywhere. Eventually when we stopped trying to keep them in our groups and just organized the children by activity, things ran A LITTLE more smoothly. But it was still a disaster, but I think the children had fun and the parents were able to attend their meetings without constant interruption, and I guess those were the goals of the camp, so SUCCESS!
By 7:00, when the camp was supposed to have ended we are all absolutely exhausted from running around and my pants were more spit and snot than khaki, but there were still most of the kids there. One of the people in charge called a corp member meeting, he apologized because we were supposed to easily be out of there by 7:30, but some parents had gotten confused or something, so he was asking for volunteers to stay later and help, but wanted us to feel no pressure to stay, senior corps and staff would be staying and could (probably) handle it. He ended his little speech with "Kids won this one guys, kids one point" and a silent break.
My roomies and I decided to stay and help clean up and we waited til all the kids had been picked up which was at about 8:45! The JW Marriot was beautiful but I was ready to go home. We got home at like 9ish and made a beautiful White Pizza, with pesto and lots of veggies, and by the time that was made, there was no way I was going out I was exhausted. Roomizz and I watched Sex Change Hospital, Dinner with Cannibals and then fell asleep during Whose Line is it Anyways on the living room floor. An exhausting day to end a tiring week, but very super fun.
Daily Hero: There was one kid who I had been with all day and he/she was very challenging. The kid did not speak English and loved to run everywhere chasing anyone looking for the next fun thing to do. Most parents when they picked up their child were in a rush and kind of just grabbed the kid and rushed off. This parent stopped me, help my hands in theirs and looked into my eyes and thanked me for watching their child, how much it meant to them. I was truly inspired and it made all of my hard work 110% worth it.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
802 Crew
If yesterday was "powerful" then today was a word that has not even been invented yet, it was mega-power-super-ful.
I started the earliness with a morning swim. I got a lot of laps in and made a new friend (oh and found a Dora the Explorer kickboard which I totally used, it was so much better than kicking on my back!)! I had been talking about last night how I wanted to make new friends in San Antonio and yay this morning at the pool- mission accomplished!
Our morning was filled with PT, basic CY procedures, learning about math tutoring, and other random stuff. Then I had a fantastic lunch with people who I had not sat with before and we just kind of busted out a dance party and it was so fun and a girl invited me to have life size pizza at Big Lou's later that night.
Then the day took a turn for the more serious, we learned how to answer uncomfortable questions asked by students and how to redirect and respond to serious statements made. We learned how to tango a little bit(seriously fun). Then a senior corps member told us his kind of whole life story, which was absolutely inspiring to hear this member share and this person had overcome so much adversity in their life and had finally made it to CY, where they could share their story. The speaker was quiet and hard to hear, but I was still incredibly moved.
We were next prepped for the plan for tomorrow. We are having BTA for a couple hours at the JW Marriot Hotel and then there will be lunch for us! No more sandwiches this week (fingers crossed!). Then we will be running a camp until about 8pm for the children of the National Down Syndrome Conference! I am so so so so unbelievably excited. It will be amazing working with kids (finally) and even more amazing working with kids with Downs and making it so their parents can have this time to learn knowing their children are in capable hands.
We had a really sweet crazy team break and I feel like my team is getting closer and more effective at working with each other and less awkward.
My room mates and I traveled to DS to change and then to Big Lou's to consume the monster pizza, but.... there was a two hour line at Big Lou's so we dipped to Lulu's, similar name, very different cuisine. I had a monster burger and ate some of a THREE POUND CINNAMON ROLL! We took the rest home and it will be a feast for the rest of the weekend in 802. My room mates and I are so close and we are making a weekend bucket list, on the list- AUSTIN! I am so excited! I was originally going to apply for UT-Austin, and I'm not sure why I ever changed my mind, but I'm pumped to check out the city none the less.
Daily Hero: The Corps Members who are constantly supportive to their peers, willing and eager to make new friends and most importantly, when asked to volunteer with kids with Down Syndrome, none of them complained (even though no one actually signed up for that), and acceptance in young people is such a rare thing to find.
I started the earliness with a morning swim. I got a lot of laps in and made a new friend (oh and found a Dora the Explorer kickboard which I totally used, it was so much better than kicking on my back!)! I had been talking about last night how I wanted to make new friends in San Antonio and yay this morning at the pool- mission accomplished!
Our morning was filled with PT, basic CY procedures, learning about math tutoring, and other random stuff. Then I had a fantastic lunch with people who I had not sat with before and we just kind of busted out a dance party and it was so fun and a girl invited me to have life size pizza at Big Lou's later that night.
Then the day took a turn for the more serious, we learned how to answer uncomfortable questions asked by students and how to redirect and respond to serious statements made. We learned how to tango a little bit(seriously fun). Then a senior corps member told us his kind of whole life story, which was absolutely inspiring to hear this member share and this person had overcome so much adversity in their life and had finally made it to CY, where they could share their story. The speaker was quiet and hard to hear, but I was still incredibly moved.
We were next prepped for the plan for tomorrow. We are having BTA for a couple hours at the JW Marriot Hotel and then there will be lunch for us! No more sandwiches this week (fingers crossed!). Then we will be running a camp until about 8pm for the children of the National Down Syndrome Conference! I am so so so so unbelievably excited. It will be amazing working with kids (finally) and even more amazing working with kids with Downs and making it so their parents can have this time to learn knowing their children are in capable hands.
We had a really sweet crazy team break and I feel like my team is getting closer and more effective at working with each other and less awkward.
My room mates and I traveled to DS to change and then to Big Lou's to consume the monster pizza, but.... there was a two hour line at Big Lou's so we dipped to Lulu's, similar name, very different cuisine. I had a monster burger and ate some of a THREE POUND CINNAMON ROLL! We took the rest home and it will be a feast for the rest of the weekend in 802. My room mates and I are so close and we are making a weekend bucket list, on the list- AUSTIN! I am so excited! I was originally going to apply for UT-Austin, and I'm not sure why I ever changed my mind, but I'm pumped to check out the city none the less.
Daily Hero: The Corps Members who are constantly supportive to their peers, willing and eager to make new friends and most importantly, when asked to volunteer with kids with Down Syndrome, none of them complained (even though no one actually signed up for that), and acceptance in young people is such a rare thing to find.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Stupendous Squishies
Squishies are CY's term for the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach you get when you try a new thing. Today our training room was filled with those squishies. But getting to that place made it the best day of training so far.
We had our first PT today! It was not as rigorous as I expected, which was awesome, and in fact it was a lot more just getting us all energized. And it was extremely effective. (Along with the cup of coffee I consumed.) By the end, even though my face was sweaty and my hair was a mess, I was shouting "I'm fired up!" at the very top of my lungs. There are a lot of things to memorize for call and response, but everyone is so enthusiastic that my awful memory is not too intimidated.
Our day was scattered with many breaks and tons of walking around. The senior corps all listened to our requests and really changed up the day to help us make everything better and easier for us.
The topic for the day was mainly about diversity and inclusion. They hung up posters all along the walls and had social classifications written on each poster. We then had everyone write stereotypes on the posters. It was super interesting to see what everyone had to write, and an interesting observations was that the groups that were the majority- white and Christian, had more slurs written on them, then the groups who were the minority had minimum slurs and most slurs were not offensive.
It felt like we had confronted a ton of squishies, but we were not totally comfortable.
We practiced charismatic listening, which is basically listening where we aren't thinking of our response and just totally and completely listen, and then ask follow up questions. That is easy to do one on one for me, but hard when I'm in a big group.
Then we played a game called walk across the room, this was where the PM made a statement and then we had to cross the room if the statement applied to us. It was very powerful stuff, we did economic class, religion, race, sexuality and just it was so impressive to see everyone being so comfortable, and people shared some things that had before been not said to anyone else.
I was so happy by the end of training and it was a fantastic day. I am trying to hold onto this feeling of happiness and closeness with the corps, for my future not so positive days that I might encounter during my ten months.
After training 802 hit the gym and trained with Kenny. We did half an hour of these exercises where we didn't need weights that still was a work out and did half an hour of cardio- I love me the bike- and then stretched it out. Stretching is definitely the best part of working out in my book!
Daily hero: All my brave fellow corp members who remain so positive even after facing such adversity. They all channel their negative experience into renewed energy for helping others and I am truly inspired.
We had our first PT today! It was not as rigorous as I expected, which was awesome, and in fact it was a lot more just getting us all energized. And it was extremely effective. (Along with the cup of coffee I consumed.) By the end, even though my face was sweaty and my hair was a mess, I was shouting "I'm fired up!" at the very top of my lungs. There are a lot of things to memorize for call and response, but everyone is so enthusiastic that my awful memory is not too intimidated.
Our day was scattered with many breaks and tons of walking around. The senior corps all listened to our requests and really changed up the day to help us make everything better and easier for us.
The topic for the day was mainly about diversity and inclusion. They hung up posters all along the walls and had social classifications written on each poster. We then had everyone write stereotypes on the posters. It was super interesting to see what everyone had to write, and an interesting observations was that the groups that were the majority- white and Christian, had more slurs written on them, then the groups who were the minority had minimum slurs and most slurs were not offensive.
It felt like we had confronted a ton of squishies, but we were not totally comfortable.
We practiced charismatic listening, which is basically listening where we aren't thinking of our response and just totally and completely listen, and then ask follow up questions. That is easy to do one on one for me, but hard when I'm in a big group.
Then we played a game called walk across the room, this was where the PM made a statement and then we had to cross the room if the statement applied to us. It was very powerful stuff, we did economic class, religion, race, sexuality and just it was so impressive to see everyone being so comfortable, and people shared some things that had before been not said to anyone else.
I was so happy by the end of training and it was a fantastic day. I am trying to hold onto this feeling of happiness and closeness with the corps, for my future not so positive days that I might encounter during my ten months.
After training 802 hit the gym and trained with Kenny. We did half an hour of these exercises where we didn't need weights that still was a work out and did half an hour of cardio- I love me the bike- and then stretched it out. Stretching is definitely the best part of working out in my book!
Daily hero: All my brave fellow corp members who remain so positive even after facing such adversity. They all channel their negative experience into renewed energy for helping others and I am truly inspired.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Five AM Festivities
My morning was jump started when I went swimming. It was 75 degrees and dark, but such a beautiful morning. I was alone in the pool for most of my swim, but it was super relaxing and I felt so energized after my burst of activity. I made myself a delicious nutritious meal and before I knew it I was off for day of training number two.
It was amazing how much this day was better than yesterday, each and every one of our concerns were addressed by the team leaders and program managers. I am so impressed by the efficiency of the CY leadership system. When we voice a concern, it is immediately addressed in a way that makes you feel supported. That is a little thing that goes a huge long way!
There was a presenter today who is the head of Urban Studies at Trinity University and she was so incredibly inspiring. She talked about San Antonio with such a passion and the issues of CY and fixing the public education system were obviously ones she deeply cared about. Also her love for San Antonio was super obvious and I felt honored just being kind of entrusted with this phenomenal woman's city. Next were the presentations of all of the schools we would potentially be serving in this year! It was so awesome and made CY feel so much more real to me. They talked a lot about how it didn't really matter where you picked, because we are all here for the students, and CY is going to form the most effective teams for the students, not because of a corps members wants- which makes complete sense, so as I listened to each school and tried not to be too attached or detached from a particular school. But again, this was no longer just random rules and regulations, this was real, and really amazing!
Also there were fans in the room which made everything a thousand times better today, and improved everyone's mood including mine.
I ended my evening with a late night swim in the pool which was so fun and relaxing because of the beautiful weather, I could get used to this...
But the super gross part about today is I discovered my whole back is peeling! I got burnt more than a week ago, my skin is so super weird, I don't know why it picked today to start it's molting process. I guess as I go from high school student to CY corp member, and turn from a baby caterpillar to a blossoming butterfly, helping others around me, my skin wants to be a part of this transformation as well.
Daily Hero: My patient patient room mates. Even when I act crazy and don't know how to get places (even though I have a GPS), or act crazy, or can't figure out how to do anything in the kitchen, each of them really reassure me and help me get through what otherwise would've been a crazy adjustment process. Don't get me wrong- still adjusting- but having frrrriends along the way makes this so much better.
It was amazing how much this day was better than yesterday, each and every one of our concerns were addressed by the team leaders and program managers. I am so impressed by the efficiency of the CY leadership system. When we voice a concern, it is immediately addressed in a way that makes you feel supported. That is a little thing that goes a huge long way!
There was a presenter today who is the head of Urban Studies at Trinity University and she was so incredibly inspiring. She talked about San Antonio with such a passion and the issues of CY and fixing the public education system were obviously ones she deeply cared about. Also her love for San Antonio was super obvious and I felt honored just being kind of entrusted with this phenomenal woman's city. Next were the presentations of all of the schools we would potentially be serving in this year! It was so awesome and made CY feel so much more real to me. They talked a lot about how it didn't really matter where you picked, because we are all here for the students, and CY is going to form the most effective teams for the students, not because of a corps members wants- which makes complete sense, so as I listened to each school and tried not to be too attached or detached from a particular school. But again, this was no longer just random rules and regulations, this was real, and really amazing!
Also there were fans in the room which made everything a thousand times better today, and improved everyone's mood including mine.
I ended my evening with a late night swim in the pool which was so fun and relaxing because of the beautiful weather, I could get used to this...
But the super gross part about today is I discovered my whole back is peeling! I got burnt more than a week ago, my skin is so super weird, I don't know why it picked today to start it's molting process. I guess as I go from high school student to CY corp member, and turn from a baby caterpillar to a blossoming butterfly, helping others around me, my skin wants to be a part of this transformation as well.
Daily Hero: My patient patient room mates. Even when I act crazy and don't know how to get places (even though I have a GPS), or act crazy, or can't figure out how to do anything in the kitchen, each of them really reassure me and help me get through what otherwise would've been a crazy adjustment process. Don't get me wrong- still adjusting- but having frrrriends along the way makes this so much better.
Monday, August 1, 2011
I am a proud member of light... HOUSE!
The ups vs. downs of the first day of training
(Because at this point I am too lazy for sentences, a day of sitting in a hot sweaty room took its toll on me)
Ups:
I liked meeting new people.
Actually getting started with the whole CY shabang
My crazy team Lighthouse
Hearing why people came to CY, there are actually some pretty inspirational stories
TEAM BONDING!
We did a couple activities like making a human bar graph about how strongly we feel about different topics; immigration, universal health care, etc. There was another activity called a snap debate, and we did a pro v. con debate about the topic: By 2020, there will be a 90% graduation rate. These were really interesting and sparked some awesome discussion. I wish we had done these all day.
Downs:
No air conditioning, big down, especially with the long pants and button up shirt oh and can't forget the black socks.
The material we were learning was kind of generic, I am so much more excited for tomorrow when we learn about the different schools in the area, more personalized and pertinent.
Power points with awkward forced discussion following.
I don't really like Stand and Deliver, a tool used where you introduce yourself every time you have a side comment, I guess it made sense in our huge group of 80, but in a small group it would feel so forced. Maybe I just need to get used to it. Also, if I stand up and make a point I have confidence and don't get distracted by enthusiastically introducing myself, but if I have to deliver my name first, I get a little side tracked.
But overall a fantastic first day of training, obviously the boring rules had to be covered but it was awesome meeting new people and I tried really hard not to make quick judgements about anyone. That's a very easy thing to do, and I am trying to take a more mature look on everything. I think this blog is also helping me mature. If I was keeping a personal journal I'd probably have more snide whiny complaints, but since I'm speaking to an audience, I keep those in check and realize how immature that side of me really is. I'm removing the negative thoughts from this blog, and one by one I am also removing the negative thoughts from my mind.
Also I figured out I get a week and a half for Christmas break (Hooray! A week and a half of good old Chicago snow!)
Daily Hero: Well today in particular it was the Barbara Jordan Community Center, but in general all of San Antonio who in the next couple weeks will be donating free spaces for CY to do activities in. It's awesome to see people giving their space and time to CY, it obviously has had a lot of impact on the community, and it's amazing to be a part of something that meaningful.
(Because at this point I am too lazy for sentences, a day of sitting in a hot sweaty room took its toll on me)
Ups:
I liked meeting new people.
Actually getting started with the whole CY shabang
My crazy team Lighthouse
Hearing why people came to CY, there are actually some pretty inspirational stories
TEAM BONDING!
We did a couple activities like making a human bar graph about how strongly we feel about different topics; immigration, universal health care, etc. There was another activity called a snap debate, and we did a pro v. con debate about the topic: By 2020, there will be a 90% graduation rate. These were really interesting and sparked some awesome discussion. I wish we had done these all day.
Downs:
No air conditioning, big down, especially with the long pants and button up shirt oh and can't forget the black socks.
The material we were learning was kind of generic, I am so much more excited for tomorrow when we learn about the different schools in the area, more personalized and pertinent.
Power points with awkward forced discussion following.
I don't really like Stand and Deliver, a tool used where you introduce yourself every time you have a side comment, I guess it made sense in our huge group of 80, but in a small group it would feel so forced. Maybe I just need to get used to it. Also, if I stand up and make a point I have confidence and don't get distracted by enthusiastically introducing myself, but if I have to deliver my name first, I get a little side tracked.
But overall a fantastic first day of training, obviously the boring rules had to be covered but it was awesome meeting new people and I tried really hard not to make quick judgements about anyone. That's a very easy thing to do, and I am trying to take a more mature look on everything. I think this blog is also helping me mature. If I was keeping a personal journal I'd probably have more snide whiny complaints, but since I'm speaking to an audience, I keep those in check and realize how immature that side of me really is. I'm removing the negative thoughts from this blog, and one by one I am also removing the negative thoughts from my mind.
Also I figured out I get a week and a half for Christmas break (Hooray! A week and a half of good old Chicago snow!)
Daily Hero: Well today in particular it was the Barbara Jordan Community Center, but in general all of San Antonio who in the next couple weeks will be donating free spaces for CY to do activities in. It's awesome to see people giving their space and time to CY, it obviously has had a lot of impact on the community, and it's amazing to be a part of something that meaningful.
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