I am pretty extroverted, in general. However, when it comes to my sadness and my insecurities, I tend to be intensely introverted. Because I am generally confident in myself as a person and outspoken, no one seems to notice that I'm not really that confident physically. It's not that anyone ever makes fun of me or makes me feel bad about my appearance. I am my own worst enemy, I know.
I used to be able to see my eyes and my smile and good things about myself. Lately I'm wondering how much a new face would cost.
Last weekend when I was hanging out with one of my mentoring girls, she asked why I didn't like her cousin. I told her that he made fun of my acne and made me feel bad about myself. She said "I don't think your acne looks bad on you. Your acne looks good with your skin color." I about DIED laughing at her sweet comment. I know that she cares about me and wanted to make me feel better. I'm not sure anyone else has ever been told that their acne looks good. I've heard so many people say stupid things like "I don't even notice," that only make me think then you weren't looking at me.
I even feel self-conscious at home by myself sometimes. But Ellie won't judge me, so I should at least relax when I'm on my couch!
Showing posts with label mentoring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mentoring. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Thrifty Rag Rugs
In my house, we used to have a big, old rug made out of what I assume was recycled wool clothes. As I was stumbling one day, I came across a tutorial for how to make t-shirt yarn. At first I thought, "what the hell would I want with that?" But I was wrong. I quickly put the two thoughts together and decided to make a rug.
Supplies: A stack of old t-shirts, sharp scissors (not kiddie scissors, either), and a size Q crochet hook (you can get these big plastic hooks at Wal-Mart for $3).
Useful Tip: It is best to use t-shirts without side-seams. You can use shirts with side-seams, but you have to be careful to hide them as you are working. It is not too difficult to make sure the seam always lands in the back of your work.
Well, I had lost that tutorial, so I found another one here at Polka Dot Pineapple. I don't cut my strips as large as hers though.
Useful tip: You can make smaller yarn balls out of the sleeves to help stretch one color further (and to use as much of the shirt as possible).
To make the rug:
Chain 5
slip stitch to make a loop
single crochet in a circle until you run out of yarn.
Tie on another color an keep going until desired size!
Especially at the beginning, you have to be careful that you increase stitches regularly enough that your rug doesn't start to look more like a bowl. But the great thing about t-shirt yarn is that it is so dang stretchy, so even if you don't increase the right amount, you can always shape the rug later. To increase, do 2 single crochets in the same stitch. Usually the first and second rows, you will need to increase in every stitch, the next row will be increase every other stitch. After that, increase as needed- whenever it seems like a stretch to make it to the next stitch.
Useful tip. It takes about 9-10 shirts to make a rug with a 2 foot diameter. The bigger your rug gets, the fewer rounds one ball of yarn will make it around the circle.
This is a super easy and fun craft, especially if you have someone there to teach you how to do it. I have taught friends and my mentoring girls. My friend Meghann loved it so much that she finished her rug within 24 hours of learning. My mentoring girls (ages 9, 12 and 13) have caught on incredibly quickly and manage to help each other when I'm not in the room. Dae-Shana has said that she wants to continue making rugs and sell them to make money. If I can give these girls a skill that they could make a few dollars off of, then I have far surpassed any ideas I had the first day I started this silly little craft project.
Useful Tip: Shirts with patterns (especially stripes) look great! Most patterned shirts will had side seams, though.
With rug making skills in high demand at my apartment, so are old t-shirts! Being the regular thrift-shopper that I am, I manage to find some amazing deals. I am always on the look out for good deals on t-shirts, especially bright colored ones for the girls. Because of my second-hand addiction, I now have a 2-foot tall rainbow stack of t-shirts waiting to be made in to rugs.
 |
| First rugs I made- dirty with use. They hold up well, though! |
Useful Tip: It is best to use t-shirts without side-seams. You can use shirts with side-seams, but you have to be careful to hide them as you are working. It is not too difficult to make sure the seam always lands in the back of your work.
Well, I had lost that tutorial, so I found another one here at Polka Dot Pineapple. I don't cut my strips as large as hers though.
Useful tip: You can make smaller yarn balls out of the sleeves to help stretch one color further (and to use as much of the shirt as possible).
To make the rug:
 |
| Big Rug for Mama to match her decor. |
slip stitch to make a loop
single crochet in a circle until you run out of yarn.
Tie on another color an keep going until desired size!
Especially at the beginning, you have to be careful that you increase stitches regularly enough that your rug doesn't start to look more like a bowl. But the great thing about t-shirt yarn is that it is so dang stretchy, so even if you don't increase the right amount, you can always shape the rug later. To increase, do 2 single crochets in the same stitch. Usually the first and second rows, you will need to increase in every stitch, the next row will be increase every other stitch. After that, increase as needed- whenever it seems like a stretch to make it to the next stitch.
Useful tip. It takes about 9-10 shirts to make a rug with a 2 foot diameter. The bigger your rug gets, the fewer rounds one ball of yarn will make it around the circle.
This is a super easy and fun craft, especially if you have someone there to teach you how to do it. I have taught friends and my mentoring girls. My friend Meghann loved it so much that she finished her rug within 24 hours of learning. My mentoring girls (ages 9, 12 and 13) have caught on incredibly quickly and manage to help each other when I'm not in the room. Dae-Shana has said that she wants to continue making rugs and sell them to make money. If I can give these girls a skill that they could make a few dollars off of, then I have far surpassed any ideas I had the first day I started this silly little craft project.Useful Tip: Shirts with patterns (especially stripes) look great! Most patterned shirts will had side seams, though.
With rug making skills in high demand at my apartment, so are old t-shirts! Being the regular thrift-shopper that I am, I manage to find some amazing deals. I am always on the look out for good deals on t-shirts, especially bright colored ones for the girls. Because of my second-hand addiction, I now have a 2-foot tall rainbow stack of t-shirts waiting to be made in to rugs.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Puzzzzles.
After a day full of work at work, I took some of the girls to the park and to the library. Dae-Shana was pissy for a while. Turns out she was just upset because I said no to going to the pool. To a 10-year-old, the pool seems care-free. For the 23-year-old mentor of 2-6 kids at a time, it sounds like a heart-attack. Not only does everyone need to have a bathing suit, change of clothes and a towel, they need MONEY to get in. Not something you try to pull together at 5pm after work. So I had to promise to take them to the pool. Heaven help me, or anyone else willing to help me make sure no one drowns or gets us kicked out of the pool.
Instead of swimming, we fed ducks at the park, played on the swings and did puzzles at the library. Its amazing how easily you can get the girls excited to do any of these activities. If you just say "its really fun! come on!" they run after you and join in. I said I wanted to do one of the puzzles and all three of the girls were on the floor with me. They were amazed by my puzzle skills (all 48 pieces of each of these puzzles). They even got competitive when I started asking them to point out different states on the map of the US puzzle, rather than just fitting them together by colors on the box.
The girls frustrate me to no end sometimes, but the majority of the time spent on our adventures are generally pretty entertaining. The girls would move in with me tomorrow if I asked. They beg me to let them spend the night. They want to meet my friends, work out with me, clean my apartment for me, and play with my cat. I'm really glad that I decided to mentor this family of kids. It makes me feel so awful that I may be one of the only positive influences in their lives. But WHAT I'VE LEARNED so far about mentoring, and in general, working with kids of poverty, is that you cannot save them. You can guide them for the short period of time that you are in their lives. You can give them such great memories that they will never forget you. But you can't help them all to make the right decisions, graduate high school (without getting pregnant) and go to college. You can't stop them from getting in a fight and getting arrested for battery. But you can be an example of an alternative way of living. I have the knowledge that they may someday make a better decision because they saw me act in a certain way.
Kamyra (left) and Dae-shana. 10 going on 16.
Instead of swimming, we fed ducks at the park, played on the swings and did puzzles at the library. Its amazing how easily you can get the girls excited to do any of these activities. If you just say "its really fun! come on!" they run after you and join in. I said I wanted to do one of the puzzles and all three of the girls were on the floor with me. They were amazed by my puzzle skills (all 48 pieces of each of these puzzles). They even got competitive when I started asking them to point out different states on the map of the US puzzle, rather than just fitting them together by colors on the box.
The girls frustrate me to no end sometimes, but the majority of the time spent on our adventures are generally pretty entertaining. The girls would move in with me tomorrow if I asked. They beg me to let them spend the night. They want to meet my friends, work out with me, clean my apartment for me, and play with my cat. I'm really glad that I decided to mentor this family of kids. It makes me feel so awful that I may be one of the only positive influences in their lives. But WHAT I'VE LEARNED so far about mentoring, and in general, working with kids of poverty, is that you cannot save them. You can guide them for the short period of time that you are in their lives. You can give them such great memories that they will never forget you. But you can't help them all to make the right decisions, graduate high school (without getting pregnant) and go to college. You can't stop them from getting in a fight and getting arrested for battery. But you can be an example of an alternative way of living. I have the knowledge that they may someday make a better decision because they saw me act in a certain way.
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