Reminiscing About a Week to Remember

Me on garbage-pickin' day.

Tonight, I was inspired to make my blog look like something.  I finally took the time to figure out how to make a banner!

The photo in my new banner was taken during my Alternative Spring Break trip to Mullens, West Virginia in 2010.  ASB is a week-long service trip focusing on an issue area- ours being environment and rural poverty.  It is AMAZING to be part of a group of 45 college students who willingly give up their Spring Break to participate in a substance-free (no alcohol even if you are 21) trip where you work for free, sleep on a disaster blanket on the cement floor and shower in freezing cold water (or not at all).  These kids are special, I'm tellin' ya.
 

Female warriors and their haul.

Team 3 after a tough day of street sweeping!

 On this particular days, we spent all day clearing brush near an old church and in an overgrown cemetery.  By the end of the day, it was raining and all of us were wet, stinky and covered in mud.  Our team had grown so much by this 4th full day of service together, that we had quit our grumbling and focused on what needed to be done and how we could make it happen.  Some of my team members are still good friends I hope to stay close with throughout my life (in fact, I saw one just this past weekend!).  Its rare that you get a chance to spend a week with that many people who just want to make the world a better place.  I wanted to honor that experience and how it helped shape me as a person and the work that I do in the world and in my community.

Kiddies

Last week was an insanely busy week.  So busy that I barely got any crafting done!! The favorite part of my week was definitely going to the Old King's Orchard After School Program.

I work with the Kindergarten through 4th Grade group.  In particular, I work with the youngest of those kids- Kindergarten and 1st Grade. The youngest kids can be the sweetest of all, but can also be the biggest hand-full.

I've started to get a little following of 6-year-old boys.  My favorite of which is Chris- the sweetest, most polite little thing that I've ever met.  He never jumps on me like the other boys.  He always asks for piggy back rides (instead of jumping on my back and grabbing my shirt) and he is respectful when I say no.  On the way home from the park on Wednesday, Chris asked if he could have a piggy back ride back to the Community Center.  I told him that I couldn't give any more piggy back rides.  So he just asked "Could I hold your hand, then?"   WHAT A LITTLE SWEETIE!  He held my hand all the way back and didn't let go until I told him to go play.

Would it be wrong to steal him and take him home with me?!?!

Experience

I've been an AmeriCorps VISTA member for more than eight months now.  I am working as the Coordinator for the Macon County Juvenile Justice Council (and other duties as assigned, of course).  I work closely with the Macon County States Attorney.

Recently, we have been talking about sustainability for the Juvenile Justice Council and have been tossing around the idea of funding my position as an actual JOB, rather than an AmeriCorps position.  The States Attorney must like me because he is very interested in making this happen before my year of service is up so that I can stay on as an actual employee.  Not only does he want to build this position for me, but he also wants the position to be something that I am interested in doing.

What a great compliment!!

My AmeriCorps experience has been a wonderful opportunity for me to make connections, get experience and learn how to get things done (for my community and for myself, it seems).  I believe that I made the right choice jumping in to this position right out of school.  My father wanted me to hold out for something that had better pay (which I would like, too!), but I realized that with my lack of professional experience in such a sluggish economy, that I would not quickly find a meaningful position.

Not only have I been able to develop in my official volunteer position, but in my after-work volunteer positions, as well.  Volunteering at the after-school program has given me experience with children to help me understand the difficulties that teachers face without having to be in a formal classroom.

Recently I have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.  The Decatur branch of Habitat for Humanity has not had an executive director for ten years.  The new director has been on board since August and and is trying to re-vamp the way Habitat is run here in Decatur.  I will be assisting her by writing their Fundraising Plan.  This works perfectly for all parties- I will get some really interesting experience and the director will be getting free work.

Give of Yourself

One of the most rewarding things you can do with your time is to give it to someone who needs it.

I participate in Community Restorative Boards for the Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI) program.  Adult Redeploy is a "second chance" program for non-violent offenders who would otherwise be on their way to prison.  It is an intensive probation program where participants must participate in "Moral Reconation Therapy" which is a 12 step programs to change decision making and thought processes for the better.  Community Restorative Boards are small community circles which seek to hold offenders accountable for their actions and the harm they caused the community, while acting as a support group for offenders who, all too often, do not have a strong support system in place.  

Today, one of my Community Restorative Board participants sat down with those of us from her Community Restorative Board and seven other community members to tell her story and to apologize for the harm she had caused the community.  This participant, a Registered Nurse, was in the program because of years of driving on suspended and revoked license (initially caused by  DUI).  She is a mother of two wonderful teenage daughters and has an incredibly supportive family.  She continued to drive on a revoked license for so long because she was so embarrassed to tell her family that she had lost her license.  She eventually spent 41 days in jail and, if she had not have entered the ARI program, would have spent time in prison.

What she did today was so brave and inspiring.  She sat in front of all those strangers and told them what she had done wrong.  Her tears were genuine, as was her remorse. Through this experience, she has learned not to hide things from her family and to trust that they will love and support her through anything.  

When she hugged me at the end, she smelled like my mom.  She is younger than my mom, but her hug was so heartfelt that for a second, I forgot that it wasn't my mom.  It felt really wonderful to be able to sit with her and support her as she told this room full of strangers all about what she has gone through (including strangers who represent law enforcement and the States Attorney's Office).

I love volunteering.  I volunteer on top of my full-time volunteer job.  As a matter of fact, I'm on my way to the Old King's Orchard After School Program right now!

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.

Do-Gooder

I don't do the things I do for recognition.  I don't tell you about my job and my volunteering just for you to praise me about how great I am.  I don't want you to say "We need more people like you in the world."  I want you to say "How can I get involved?"  I tell you about the work I do because I think its important to let people know that there are issues out there that ALL of us should be concerned about.  You can throw all the money you want at these issues, but only by getting out there and giving your time, your knowledge and your energy will you really be able to make a difference in your community.  Just throwing money at the problem is part of the problem anyway. Yes, there needs to be some money because we can't all be full time volunteers (in fact, only people like me with generous parents can afford to live this life).  But everyone has more time to give than they are giving.  If you aren't giving your time to help the black community, I don't want to hear you complain about the black community.  If you aren't giving your time to help teach our nation's children, I don't want to hear you complain about the education system.  If you aren't living a green life, I don't want to hear your preach about environmentalism.    Yes, all these issues will persist whether we complain about them or not.  If you fail to DO something, the problem WILL persist, but if you give of yourself to the pressing issues that concern you, you may be able to change them.

A little bit of a rambling rant.  Maybe I will come back and make that more succinct.