An important part of my role as an AmeriCorps VISTA is to enhance the capacity of my organization to run smoothly after I am gone. For this reason, I am writing a manual for the next person who comes in to fill my position, since I will most likely not be here to help them transition.
Here is an expert from the "Lessons Learned" section of my manual:
Make friends with all of the member of the council. If they like you, they will be more likely to
call you back, more likely to open your e-mails and more likely to come to the
meetings. They will be more likely to
volunteer to be on subcommittees. It
just works. Don’t be shy; don’t be
rude. Persistence is key. Put aside
your own personality preferences and find something in common with
everyone. Make an appointment with them
to sit down and get to know them. Write
down some questions that you’d like answered about who they are, what they do
and why they do it. The conversation
will usually get off topic, but that is where some of the real relationship
building starts.
As the saying goes, "It's not what you know, but who you know." Certainly, you need to know some stuff to get very far. One of the things you need to know (or learn) is how to know people. If you don't know them, find a way to know them.
The idea of a Juvenile Justice Council is to foster relationships between all relevant stakeholders working in prevention, diversion and intervention for youth. By working together, we can achieve so much more than when we try to do all of the work ourselves. Of course, this doesn't just hold true for our council, but for any project, vision or goal that you may have, be it personal or professional.
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Love and Learn
I believe that when someone comes in to your life, it's because you are supposed to learn something from them. They come at just the right time and offer you just what you need.
After getting out of two relationships in a row that left me emotionally drained and damaged, I found someone who was good to me and appreciated me for who I was. He was certainly not perfect- but I thought so. I met him just when I needed someone to bring me back to life. When he left, I thought that eventually he might come back after we both did some growing up. But now I don't hope for that any more. Him walking away was also what I needed. When I was with him, I was able to hold on to my life at college and didn't need to fully immerse myself in my new life. Since then, I've become a part of my new community and moved on to a new phase in my life.
Every new place, every new job, every new group of friends is a new phase. Sometimes a few people come along into the new phase, but there is no reason to mourn those who stay a part of the past. Take pictures to remember the past and look back to appreciate what it was. Keep in contact with friends (thank goodness for Facebook!) and visit if you can.
Learn what you can while friends are here and be thankful for them after they are gone. Keep on loving and learning. <3
Monday, September 5, 2011
Words I Live By, in no particular order
I read a lot of self-improvement stuff that I come across as I travel through the wonderful world wide web. But in my (almost) 24 years, I've collected some knowledge of my own. I stopped at twenty, but I bet I could have made it to One HUNDRED and twenty!
1. Take the saying "You learn something new every day" to heart. Don't think you've learned anything yet today? I like to stumble until I do. Or Wiki-surf: go to Wikipedia and read the featured article (or as much of it as you are interested in) and click on one of the links in the article. Do this several times over until you find yourself on a completely different topic.
2. Don't let clutter take over your life. Every time you notice that your living/work space has become messy, pick up 3 things. Sometimes this game turns in to 5 or 10 things, or an hour's worth of scrubbing when the mood hits.
3. Set small goals frequently. For example: do yoga every morning for a week, read 2 books this month, save $100 this month. Even if you never reach them, it helps to motivate you for a while.
4. Be shamelessly thrifty. Shop at yard sales, thrift stores and clearance racks. Why pay full price? Here is my own guide to thrifting.
5. Volunteer Regularly. When you volunteer with one organization on a regular basis, you form relationships that are just as rewarding as the work itself. Volunteer for a cause you believe in and the experience will be so much more than a "resume builder".
6. Cancel your cable TV for a year. Read a book. Cook a nice dinner for someone you love. Play board games with your family or friends. Cross something off the honey-do list. Go for a night walk. Learn an instrument. Pick up a hobby. Do a puzzle. Get that regular volunteering in. If there are shows you just can't miss, you can usually find them on Hulu. Once you've learned to survive without it, I doubt you'll be in a hurry to get the cable hooked back up.
7. Don't waste time worrying. Most of the time we worry about things that will never happen. Don't think about problems that haven't arisen yet, and spend your time solving the problems that do arise.
8. Be your own best friend. If you don't like yourself, how do you expect others to like you? Do what you can to improve yourself, but accept yourself for who you are, not who you'd like to be. Spend time alone to find out who you are when no one else is looking, for that is your truest self.
9. If you think you can't, you can't. Approach every task optimistically. Its amazing what you can do just by saying, "I can." You can run a mile. You can learn to knit. You can read War and Peace. But you can't if you never try.
10. Be good to others. We're all in it together. When someone is rude to you, try to think of what they may be going through that would make them act in such a manner.
11. Take pictures often. My mother always says "Life looks so fun in pictures." I always reply "My life IS fun. I take pictures to remember." It's always a treat to look through old Facebook photo albums and think about how I felt at that moment. Always be making memories, but don't forget to take a look at old ones every once in a while.
12. Try new things! Don't box yourself in and settle in to the life you have. Always reach for new things. Take a different route to work. Prepare a meal you've never tried before. Shake up your Saturday Night routine. Try on that skirt you think looks so great on the mannequin. Even if it doesn't work out, at least you will have learned something about yourself.
13. Spend big bucks on experiences, not things. Things break, get used up or get lost. Spend your money making memories. THINGS to invest in: a camera, a nice big bed and good walking shoes.
14. Stay humble and be grateful for what you have. In Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson, Suzanne is always saying "Aren't we lucky?" This is a saying I've taken to heart. Be thankful for everything you have and everyone in your life.
15. People come in to your life for a reason. People come in and out of your life- some people stay longer than others. Learn what you can from them while they are there. Don't mourn lost relationships, but cherish the lessons learned from them.
16. Trust your gut. There are so many examples of this that I'm having trouble choosing. This works as good test advice, moral advice or dating advice. When you know, you know.
17. Call your mom. On Hwy 20, there used to be a sign right outside Rockford that said "Call your mom." I never understood what the advertisement was for, but I always called my mom. I think it was good advice. You should tell her you love her too. Which reminds me....
18. Say "I love you" as often as you mean it. Love makes the world go 'round. All you need is love. Love conquers all. Cliche, cliche, cliche. But seriously. Don't YOU love it when someone says "I love you?" Doesn't it just make ya feel good? Well, others like to hear it too. There isn't enough in the love in the world. I bet terrorists would think twice if a few more people told them "I love you" every once in a while! HA!
19. Know what is going on in the world. You don't have to read the newspaper every day or watch the 6 o'clock news every night, but you should have some clue about major events happening locally, nationally and globally.
20. Wake up before you want to. Get plenty of sleep, but don't miss the best part of the day. Mornings are magical. Sunrise is the most peaceful time of day. Hitting snooze feels good for 10 minutes, but 10 minutes of yoga will wake you up better than a whole pot of coffee. Use extra morning time to relax before you start your day. Don't start your day in a hurry.
1. Take the saying "You learn something new every day" to heart. Don't think you've learned anything yet today? I like to stumble until I do. Or Wiki-surf: go to Wikipedia and read the featured article (or as much of it as you are interested in) and click on one of the links in the article. Do this several times over until you find yourself on a completely different topic.
2. Don't let clutter take over your life. Every time you notice that your living/work space has become messy, pick up 3 things. Sometimes this game turns in to 5 or 10 things, or an hour's worth of scrubbing when the mood hits.
3. Set small goals frequently. For example: do yoga every morning for a week, read 2 books this month, save $100 this month. Even if you never reach them, it helps to motivate you for a while.
4. Be shamelessly thrifty. Shop at yard sales, thrift stores and clearance racks. Why pay full price? Here is my own guide to thrifting.
5. Volunteer Regularly. When you volunteer with one organization on a regular basis, you form relationships that are just as rewarding as the work itself. Volunteer for a cause you believe in and the experience will be so much more than a "resume builder".
6. Cancel your cable TV for a year. Read a book. Cook a nice dinner for someone you love. Play board games with your family or friends. Cross something off the honey-do list. Go for a night walk. Learn an instrument. Pick up a hobby. Do a puzzle. Get that regular volunteering in. If there are shows you just can't miss, you can usually find them on Hulu. Once you've learned to survive without it, I doubt you'll be in a hurry to get the cable hooked back up.
7. Don't waste time worrying. Most of the time we worry about things that will never happen. Don't think about problems that haven't arisen yet, and spend your time solving the problems that do arise.
8. Be your own best friend. If you don't like yourself, how do you expect others to like you? Do what you can to improve yourself, but accept yourself for who you are, not who you'd like to be. Spend time alone to find out who you are when no one else is looking, for that is your truest self.
9. If you think you can't, you can't. Approach every task optimistically. Its amazing what you can do just by saying, "I can." You can run a mile. You can learn to knit. You can read War and Peace. But you can't if you never try.
10. Be good to others. We're all in it together. When someone is rude to you, try to think of what they may be going through that would make them act in such a manner.
11. Take pictures often. My mother always says "Life looks so fun in pictures." I always reply "My life IS fun. I take pictures to remember." It's always a treat to look through old Facebook photo albums and think about how I felt at that moment. Always be making memories, but don't forget to take a look at old ones every once in a while.
12. Try new things! Don't box yourself in and settle in to the life you have. Always reach for new things. Take a different route to work. Prepare a meal you've never tried before. Shake up your Saturday Night routine. Try on that skirt you think looks so great on the mannequin. Even if it doesn't work out, at least you will have learned something about yourself.
13. Spend big bucks on experiences, not things. Things break, get used up or get lost. Spend your money making memories. THINGS to invest in: a camera, a nice big bed and good walking shoes.
14. Stay humble and be grateful for what you have. In Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson, Suzanne is always saying "Aren't we lucky?" This is a saying I've taken to heart. Be thankful for everything you have and everyone in your life.
15. People come in to your life for a reason. People come in and out of your life- some people stay longer than others. Learn what you can from them while they are there. Don't mourn lost relationships, but cherish the lessons learned from them.
16. Trust your gut. There are so many examples of this that I'm having trouble choosing. This works as good test advice, moral advice or dating advice. When you know, you know.
17. Call your mom. On Hwy 20, there used to be a sign right outside Rockford that said "Call your mom." I never understood what the advertisement was for, but I always called my mom. I think it was good advice. You should tell her you love her too. Which reminds me....
18. Say "I love you" as often as you mean it. Love makes the world go 'round. All you need is love. Love conquers all. Cliche, cliche, cliche. But seriously. Don't YOU love it when someone says "I love you?" Doesn't it just make ya feel good? Well, others like to hear it too. There isn't enough in the love in the world. I bet terrorists would think twice if a few more people told them "I love you" every once in a while! HA!
19. Know what is going on in the world. You don't have to read the newspaper every day or watch the 6 o'clock news every night, but you should have some clue about major events happening locally, nationally and globally.
20. Wake up before you want to. Get plenty of sleep, but don't miss the best part of the day. Mornings are magical. Sunrise is the most peaceful time of day. Hitting snooze feels good for 10 minutes, but 10 minutes of yoga will wake you up better than a whole pot of coffee. Use extra morning time to relax before you start your day. Don't start your day in a hurry.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
I KHAN Do It!
The quantitative reasoning section of the GRE is just math, mainly algebra and geometry and data analysis. Easy stuff, right? Well its not as easy as I thought it would be, since the last math class I had was statistics in my first semester of college, almost five years ago now. Yea, I remember that there IS such a thing as the quadratic formula and I remember that there IS an equation for the slope of a line, but NO, I couldn't have told you how to figure it out.
In my quest to re-learn the math I have forgotten over the years, I remembered a TED Talk I had seen on the Khan Academy. Number one, if you dont' know what TED Talks are, get on there and look around- incredibly innovative ideas on ALL kinds of topics, from clean water to education and wireless electricity to economics. Number two, if you don't know what Khan Academy is, get on there and look around!
Khan Academy is a learning site where the creator, Salman Khan, teaches through YouTube videos. For example, I needed to learn the quadratic formula. Khan academy is wonderful for learning math. In his videos, he takes you step by step through the problems. I am not sure how well this works when you are learning something for the first time, since I was relearning what I had learned in high school. However, some teachers are using sites like Khan Academy to improve classroom productivity. Students' "homework" becomes watching these videos and doing some practice problems online. When they get back to the classroom, the teacher spends their time and energy in helping the students with what would usually be their homework. Teachers basically become tutors. This saves classroom time, and frustration at home. I can't remember how many times my brother brought home homework that he didn't understand, and neither did my parents. Even for students whose teachers don't use Khan Academy, the site is free and open to all.
I'm in love with Khan Academy. If you create a login (you can connect using your Google account or Facebook account), you can earn points for every practice question you answer, and you can earn badges for getting a certain number of points, or for watching so many minutes of video. Anything you can turn in to a game or competition, I'm in. I love to earn points for learning! And I LOVE doing math. My bedroom floor was littered with scratch paper as I tore through the practice questions. The quantitative reasoning section is my favorite part of the GRE and hopefully I can get a score to prove as much.
In my quest to re-learn the math I have forgotten over the years, I remembered a TED Talk I had seen on the Khan Academy. Number one, if you dont' know what TED Talks are, get on there and look around- incredibly innovative ideas on ALL kinds of topics, from clean water to education and wireless electricity to economics. Number two, if you don't know what Khan Academy is, get on there and look around!
Khan Academy is a learning site where the creator, Salman Khan, teaches through YouTube videos. For example, I needed to learn the quadratic formula. Khan academy is wonderful for learning math. In his videos, he takes you step by step through the problems. I am not sure how well this works when you are learning something for the first time, since I was relearning what I had learned in high school. However, some teachers are using sites like Khan Academy to improve classroom productivity. Students' "homework" becomes watching these videos and doing some practice problems online. When they get back to the classroom, the teacher spends their time and energy in helping the students with what would usually be their homework. Teachers basically become tutors. This saves classroom time, and frustration at home. I can't remember how many times my brother brought home homework that he didn't understand, and neither did my parents. Even for students whose teachers don't use Khan Academy, the site is free and open to all.
I'm in love with Khan Academy. If you create a login (you can connect using your Google account or Facebook account), you can earn points for every practice question you answer, and you can earn badges for getting a certain number of points, or for watching so many minutes of video. Anything you can turn in to a game or competition, I'm in. I love to earn points for learning! And I LOVE doing math. My bedroom floor was littered with scratch paper as I tore through the practice questions. The quantitative reasoning section is my favorite part of the GRE and hopefully I can get a score to prove as much.
Monday, July 18, 2011
1400 or Bust
GRE GRE GRE GRE GRE.
My mind needs to keep on this track for the next month and two days. Thank goodness for Cassie Steele, who gave me a great tip this weekend. She suggested I try Nummber2.com. This is a free site that gives really easy and detailed explanations of the types of questions you are likely to run in to on the exam. I have already started to work on some of the math and sentence completion questions. I had no idea I was so bad at arithmetic! I only scored in the 55 percentile. The great thing is, it gives you more practice questions and it will track your improvements. I did a little better with the sentence completion (76 percentile), but I'd like to get both scores above the 85 percentile.
As far as the analytical reasoning portion of the test, I may be "up a creek without a paddle" to use a cliche that is not allowed on the exam, or "screwed" which is slang, therefore also not advisable. There are two essays: an issue analysis and an argument analysis. You have 30 minutes for each section. I can't even finish this blog post in 30 minutes, let alone write a concise, well thought out, well organized essay with evidence and support to back up my opinions. I could possibly carry out this task in say, two hours.
In undergrad, I never put myself under pressure to write a paper. I was always very good about time management because I know that I do not write well under pressure. I am usually a meticulous writer, painstakingly choosing words that accurately depict the message I'm trying to convey. I LOVE Microsoft Word. I love spell check. I love shift+F7 which allows me to browse the list of synonyms to help me vary my sentences.
I will be taking this test on the computer, which is a definite advantage. I have terrible handwriting, especially when I'm trying to write quickly. I was able to almost completely give up handwriting when I purchased a netbook that was easily transportable. My three-pound computer fit handily into my book bag and left space for my coffee cup on my desk. Even now, when I take minutes at meetings, I prefer to bring my netbook along instead of wasting trees and whatever ink is made out of.
The word processor for the GRE does have some basic essential functions such as cut/paste and undo. The problem will be, not spelling and grammar- because you are allowed some minor mistakes- but sentence variation. I tend to repeat myself. HOWEVER is my favorite word. THEREFORE, I need to use shift+F7 to learn some new transitions.
I am a bit curious to see what kind of score I'm able to earn. Issue analysis is pretty much a hobby of mine, only I do this through conversation rather than by writing. I LEARN by talking. I am generally an audio learner, but this also applies to hearing my own thoughts. I find it difficult to remember my own thoughts when I'm simply thinking them. This is usually very annoying for everyone around me during test taking. I mutter the questions out loud to myself and work out problems under my breath. I always wished there were more oral exams in college. Life is more of an oral exam.
For a bit of practice, I may start writing my 30 minute essays here and having my friends critique them. Especially Pat. Pat would not feel bad about ripping apart my silly 30 minutes essays.
My mind needs to keep on this track for the next month and two days. Thank goodness for Cassie Steele, who gave me a great tip this weekend. She suggested I try Nummber2.com. This is a free site that gives really easy and detailed explanations of the types of questions you are likely to run in to on the exam. I have already started to work on some of the math and sentence completion questions. I had no idea I was so bad at arithmetic! I only scored in the 55 percentile. The great thing is, it gives you more practice questions and it will track your improvements. I did a little better with the sentence completion (76 percentile), but I'd like to get both scores above the 85 percentile.
As far as the analytical reasoning portion of the test, I may be "up a creek without a paddle" to use a cliche that is not allowed on the exam, or "screwed" which is slang, therefore also not advisable. There are two essays: an issue analysis and an argument analysis. You have 30 minutes for each section. I can't even finish this blog post in 30 minutes, let alone write a concise, well thought out, well organized essay with evidence and support to back up my opinions. I could possibly carry out this task in say, two hours.
In undergrad, I never put myself under pressure to write a paper. I was always very good about time management because I know that I do not write well under pressure. I am usually a meticulous writer, painstakingly choosing words that accurately depict the message I'm trying to convey. I LOVE Microsoft Word. I love spell check. I love shift+F7 which allows me to browse the list of synonyms to help me vary my sentences.
I will be taking this test on the computer, which is a definite advantage. I have terrible handwriting, especially when I'm trying to write quickly. I was able to almost completely give up handwriting when I purchased a netbook that was easily transportable. My three-pound computer fit handily into my book bag and left space for my coffee cup on my desk. Even now, when I take minutes at meetings, I prefer to bring my netbook along instead of wasting trees and whatever ink is made out of.
The word processor for the GRE does have some basic essential functions such as cut/paste and undo. The problem will be, not spelling and grammar- because you are allowed some minor mistakes- but sentence variation. I tend to repeat myself. HOWEVER is my favorite word. THEREFORE, I need to use shift+F7 to learn some new transitions.
I am a bit curious to see what kind of score I'm able to earn. Issue analysis is pretty much a hobby of mine, only I do this through conversation rather than by writing. I LEARN by talking. I am generally an audio learner, but this also applies to hearing my own thoughts. I find it difficult to remember my own thoughts when I'm simply thinking them. This is usually very annoying for everyone around me during test taking. I mutter the questions out loud to myself and work out problems under my breath. I always wished there were more oral exams in college. Life is more of an oral exam.
For a bit of practice, I may start writing my 30 minute essays here and having my friends critique them. Especially Pat. Pat would not feel bad about ripping apart my silly 30 minutes essays.
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