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.