My last post was insignificant and lame. I'm sorry. I'm going to tell you about the important things. City Year. Young Heroes. Camp City Year. Senior corps application. Did I mention City Year?
We're going through the application process for senior corps/team leader positions for next year. I'm getting very nervous as the process is quickly coming to a close. We've had time to "lead" other teams, have our interviews, and get freaked. It's hard because City Year is kind of my only option at the moment for next year. I really really want to come back as a team leader. I know that may make me super lame, Leigh, but it's true. City Year has been the best dang experience of my entire life and I'm not ready or willing for that to be over. So cross your fingers and think happy thoughts on March 13 (a Friday, by the way).
Young Heroes is still amazing and going strong. Last week we educated the Young Heroes about the Homeless population and they all went to various locations for service in the afternoon. The programming in the morning was fantastic. Carly arranged a rotation of quick games they had to win in order to get supplies to make a home out of a cardboard box. Guess which team won. Stone Soup of course. That afternoon my team went to the soup kitchen at the Samm Shelter. It was amazing. The man, Thomas, who ran the kitchen there said that our kids were great and more hard working than most of the volunteers that come every week. Yay, Stone Soup is basically the greatest. This service project reminded me of all my great and first experiences serving that got me hooked. It's really amazing to be in a position where I'm leading youth who are potentially having those same experiences. Goosebumps. Today was amazing with the Young Heroes as well. We spend the morning just in our team talking about people with different abilities. Our service during the afternoon was at the Mission Road Development Center. It's a home for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Our kids loved it and really got into the last part of the afternoon, which was playing basketball with the children at the center. One of the children played basketball really well. I also brought Falkor to this Young Heroes saturday. He was a big hit with the Young Heroes when we were hanging out in the morning, waiting for everyone to arrive and the building to be opened. And he was so great with the children at the development center. All of our Stone Soupers had a fantastic time. If they had a thorn for the day it was only that we didn't get to stay at the development center longer.
I have to run with my roommate to goodwill now. I'll write more about Camp City Year later :)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
sick sick sick
I'm sick... since Tuesday morning I've been in this deplorable state and it sucks. The good news is that I'm taking care of myself this time. Unlike my sickness last semester that ended up last 2 weeks plus because I just kept going to work like I'm superwoman or something. And I'm not. Not even close. So I finally went to the doctor this morning. They gave me some meds and a steroid shot. My boss has ordered me away from City Year for at least today and tomorrow... which is smart. It's nice to have people around who will make me take care of myself. Cause Lord knows I'm not going to. I'm already getting stir crazy cause I've taken the last two afternoons off to rest. But that's the relatively uneventful sad story of right now... Let me catch you up on the good stuff.
CAMP CITY YEAR!!! I'm so excited about it. It's going to mean so much more to me since I have a hand in the planning as the Program Director. It sounds too official. Carly and Lilly are my Arts people, Shawn is my recreation guy, and Bella is handling all aspects educational. David, Allison and I were brainstorming quirky, random thinks to do througout camp so the kids never ever forget us. We also got this huge, amazing campsite in the Texas Hill Country so we get to go all out with an overnight camp!! I can't wait to see what the final product is going to look like. Watch out Cyzygy!!! Here we come!
We've also had a couple Young Hero Saturdays. As a team leader it's been a little tiring. I've worked the past 3 weeks without a single day off. I guess this sickness is my body asking "WHAT IN THE HECK?!?!" But I'm still loving it. Loving my YH team, Stone Soup! We had our huge MLK weekend extravaganza. A service project on Saturday. Young Heroes training and a retreat on Sunday. And then the HUGE (largest in the country as a matter of fact) MLK Day March. We had the Young Heroes in tow. I thought we'd lose someone for sure, but they stuck with us. Then the following weekend the Young Heroes learned about stereotypes among the middle school generation and cleaned up Woodlawn Lake. On Sunday we had our first Camp City Year meeting! We decided to go with the theme "Nature" and we're still working on a catchy title.
I miss everyone back home like crazy. Sarah, Brooke, Ashley, Katy, Lexie, Leigh, Dad, Daniel, Meredith, Naomi, Mom. And Layton in Austin... But I will say I feel lucky. I'm here in San Antonio and everyday I feel more and more like this was the best decision of my entire life. I know I wouldn't feel that way if I didn't have a best friend here to share it with. I don't think she hears it enough so... Jill you are amazing and you keep me going strong. I hope you know just how much you mean to me!
CAMP CITY YEAR!!! I'm so excited about it. It's going to mean so much more to me since I have a hand in the planning as the Program Director. It sounds too official. Carly and Lilly are my Arts people, Shawn is my recreation guy, and Bella is handling all aspects educational. David, Allison and I were brainstorming quirky, random thinks to do througout camp so the kids never ever forget us. We also got this huge, amazing campsite in the Texas Hill Country so we get to go all out with an overnight camp!! I can't wait to see what the final product is going to look like. Watch out Cyzygy!!! Here we come!
We've also had a couple Young Hero Saturdays. As a team leader it's been a little tiring. I've worked the past 3 weeks without a single day off. I guess this sickness is my body asking "WHAT IN THE HECK?!?!" But I'm still loving it. Loving my YH team, Stone Soup! We had our huge MLK weekend extravaganza. A service project on Saturday. Young Heroes training and a retreat on Sunday. And then the HUGE (largest in the country as a matter of fact) MLK Day March. We had the Young Heroes in tow. I thought we'd lose someone for sure, but they stuck with us. Then the following weekend the Young Heroes learned about stereotypes among the middle school generation and cleaned up Woodlawn Lake. On Sunday we had our first Camp City Year meeting! We decided to go with the theme "Nature" and we're still working on a catchy title.
I miss everyone back home like crazy. Sarah, Brooke, Ashley, Katy, Lexie, Leigh, Dad, Daniel, Meredith, Naomi, Mom. And Layton in Austin... But I will say I feel lucky. I'm here in San Antonio and everyday I feel more and more like this was the best decision of my entire life. I know I wouldn't feel that way if I didn't have a best friend here to share it with. I don't think she hears it enough so... Jill you are amazing and you keep me going strong. I hope you know just how much you mean to me!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The New Year
We had two weeks off for holiday break and so I went back to Georgia!! Of course two weeks was not long enough to fit in all the things I wanted to do and all the people I wanted to see, but it was pretty close. I could list all the details, but the highlights were hanging out with Lexie and Leigh. Olive Garden. Taco Mac with Layton, Meredith and Daniel. Relaxing a lot at my dad's house and meeting Heather. Going to the burbs with all the puppies. Rock Band 2 and World Tour with Sarah, Ashley, Brooke, and Colin. Allgood with all the same people. Sushi with all the same people. Sushi and Trapeze with Katy. New Years at Meredith's lake house playing Dutch Blitz and Pass the Pigs :) Baking. Cooking. Watching movies. All in all doing nothing but what I wanted to do. Good times.
I'm back in San Antonio now after a grueling 18+ hour drive. Some punks tried to steal my car again! But this time is was all old news. The first week back at City Year for Advanced Training Academy (ATA) started out a bit overwhelming. First of all I over slept and was late. But then we got all this information about the tons of stuff we're going to do this semester. Which is very exciting and I'm looking forward to all of it. It also makes me a bit tired just thinking about it. Here are some things I'm especially excited about. YOUNG HEROES!! You have a little background information from my last post. I'm excited to build relationships with these amazing kids I've met. I know my Saturdays as a Young Heroes Team Leader are going to be some of the best times. I'm also really looking forward to the after school program we're starting at McAuliffe called Starfish. It's a service learning program kind of like young Heroes, but not quite as intense. The units we'll be talking about with our kids are Health, Environment, and Peace & Conflict. I'm point person for the Environment unit and I'm really looking forward to that experience. I'm trying to revamp my lunch clubs. I'm hoping to have a lot more success. I'm also looking forward to Camp City Year. It's a camp we put on for kids in San Antonio over their spring break. This year it's not overnight, but it'll still be a great time with the kids. I'm also really looking forward to Cyzygy. It's our national conference where all the City Year sites come together. That's going to be amazing, especially if San Antonio gets paired up with South Africa again.
Another thing that was overwhelming about the first day back was the rolling out of Senior Corps Member applications. I want to come back and do a second year in City Year as a Team Leader. There are many reasons I feel like that experience will be extremely beneficial to me. I came into City Year telling myself that I would put 110% into the year and take advantage of all leadership opportunities. I know that being a Team Leader would teach me so much more and prepare me to take on my future endeavors with confidence and experience. I never expected City Year to be so much bigger than just a gap year… It’s introducing me to this huge movement toward Nation Service. I think City Year is doing such wonderful and amazing things. It’s a strong leader in this movement and I’m so lucky to have found this community. I know that it will be a big part of my life from here on out. The Vice President and Dean of City Year, Charlie Rose, was in San Antonio these past couple of days. He is such an inspiring individual. Someone I can really look up to and model my career in the non-profit sector after. I’m so overwhelmed (in a good way) with City Year and all the experiences I have to look forward to this semester. Last semester was hard. It was a time to grow and get acquainted with City Year life and all the ups and downs that come with it. Now that I have my feet wet I’m ready to make the plunge and not look back.
So speaking of taking a plunge. One of the other activities we did for ATA as a corps was a high ropes course. I’ve been rock climbing and rappelling, but I’ve never done a high ropes course before. Man o man was it intense. I was so proud of everyone. So many people were terrified but did it anyways. Everyone was encouraging to each other as well. The first course our group (McAuliffe, Casey, and part of the CE team) was crazy! We had to climb to the top of a ladder and then climb up a telephone pole to this platform. From there we had to walk across a cable (we had a cable above our heads to hang on to). The last part was the hardest for me. We had to walk out to the middle of this log (with nothing to hold onto) and then free fall off of it. It took me a while to let go and walk to the middle of that log. Keep in mind that all this is going on about 30 feet up in the air. The second course started the same. Climbing up a telephone pole. Then you had to walk across another cable and this time you had two cables (one on each side) to hold onto. After that you hooked up to a zip line and went on down. It was a great experience!
I'm back in San Antonio now after a grueling 18+ hour drive. Some punks tried to steal my car again! But this time is was all old news. The first week back at City Year for Advanced Training Academy (ATA) started out a bit overwhelming. First of all I over slept and was late. But then we got all this information about the tons of stuff we're going to do this semester. Which is very exciting and I'm looking forward to all of it. It also makes me a bit tired just thinking about it. Here are some things I'm especially excited about. YOUNG HEROES!! You have a little background information from my last post. I'm excited to build relationships with these amazing kids I've met. I know my Saturdays as a Young Heroes Team Leader are going to be some of the best times. I'm also really looking forward to the after school program we're starting at McAuliffe called Starfish. It's a service learning program kind of like young Heroes, but not quite as intense. The units we'll be talking about with our kids are Health, Environment, and Peace & Conflict. I'm point person for the Environment unit and I'm really looking forward to that experience. I'm trying to revamp my lunch clubs. I'm hoping to have a lot more success. I'm also looking forward to Camp City Year. It's a camp we put on for kids in San Antonio over their spring break. This year it's not overnight, but it'll still be a great time with the kids. I'm also really looking forward to Cyzygy. It's our national conference where all the City Year sites come together. That's going to be amazing, especially if San Antonio gets paired up with South Africa again.
Another thing that was overwhelming about the first day back was the rolling out of Senior Corps Member applications. I want to come back and do a second year in City Year as a Team Leader. There are many reasons I feel like that experience will be extremely beneficial to me. I came into City Year telling myself that I would put 110% into the year and take advantage of all leadership opportunities. I know that being a Team Leader would teach me so much more and prepare me to take on my future endeavors with confidence and experience. I never expected City Year to be so much bigger than just a gap year… It’s introducing me to this huge movement toward Nation Service. I think City Year is doing such wonderful and amazing things. It’s a strong leader in this movement and I’m so lucky to have found this community. I know that it will be a big part of my life from here on out. The Vice President and Dean of City Year, Charlie Rose, was in San Antonio these past couple of days. He is such an inspiring individual. Someone I can really look up to and model my career in the non-profit sector after. I’m so overwhelmed (in a good way) with City Year and all the experiences I have to look forward to this semester. Last semester was hard. It was a time to grow and get acquainted with City Year life and all the ups and downs that come with it. Now that I have my feet wet I’m ready to make the plunge and not look back.
So speaking of taking a plunge. One of the other activities we did for ATA as a corps was a high ropes course. I’ve been rock climbing and rappelling, but I’ve never done a high ropes course before. Man o man was it intense. I was so proud of everyone. So many people were terrified but did it anyways. Everyone was encouraging to each other as well. The first course our group (McAuliffe, Casey, and part of the CE team) was crazy! We had to climb to the top of a ladder and then climb up a telephone pole to this platform. From there we had to walk across a cable (we had a cable above our heads to hang on to). The last part was the hardest for me. We had to walk out to the middle of this log (with nothing to hold onto) and then free fall off of it. It took me a while to let go and walk to the middle of that log. Keep in mind that all this is going on about 30 feet up in the air. The second course started the same. Climbing up a telephone pole. Then you had to walk across another cable and this time you had two cables (one on each side) to hold onto. After that you hooked up to a zip line and went on down. It was a great experience!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Young Heroes rock my Tims off
I’m soooo hyped up from the crazy night that just happened. I can’t sleep. So I’ll tell you about my day.
We had Heroes Training Academy yesterday. I’m one of the team leaders for the Young Heroes so along with Evelyn (a nice lady from the community who volunteered to be a team leader as well) we have a great team of about 13 middle school kids who signed up to be in City Year’s Young Heroes program. I woke up at 5:45 to go help set up. The training lasted from 8-6. We did PT in the morning. I was on PT crew which means I got to help lead PT. It was a blast! The kids were all really into it! And of course I was too. We got to meet our teams and have our “hour one” with them. This was basically a name game, Evelyn and I gave our testimonials and why we decided to be a Young Heroes Team Leader. Then we asked all the kids why they joined Young Heroes and what they hope to get out of it. We went over some rules and expectations and had the kids make a full value contract. We ended with a couple team builders. It was a good time; the kids were great and full of energy. During lunch they got to write a letter to another middle schooler who is also doing the Young Heroes program at another City Year site. They’ll get to be pen pals with this person and talk about this experience. I thought that was really cool. We watched My Friend Martin and then played MLK jeopardy. Jill explained what a hero is and the four Cs (compassion, cooperation, courage, and commitment). We then broke off into our teams and discussed who we think is a hero and which of the four Cs they displayed. Then we made up a skit as a team to portray courage. I think all the kids on our team had a really good time coming up with the skit. And that was basically the day. I had a spectacular time. I am so glad I’m going to be a YH Team Leader. I know it’s extra time on my Saturdays, but it’s time spent doing something I really really really enjoy.
So after the training we went to see A Christmas Carol at the San Pedro Playhouse. It was the musical version so I like it a lot. Some guy fell asleep right behind Jill and I and snored up a storm. Jill left during intermission because she was zonked from the day. After we left the play is when the insanity happened.
So Matt and Robert dropped me off at Jill’s because my car was there. I go inside to get my stuff. Charles and Kristen are there so I chat with them for a minute, but no more than 15. I’m walking back out to my car and when I’m in sight of it I think I see people in my car. I thought I hallucinated. It was the trippiest thing ever. I walk closer and there are definitely people in my car so I start to think maybe it’s not my car. I’m looking around, but as I get close enough to see that it is most definitely my car and there are definitely two guys in the passenger seat and the seat behind that I just stare at them for a second. It clicks for them too that it’s my car so they hop out and run. Thank goodness… So I open my car and the paneling from around the steering wheel is gone. My car won’t start. I go back inside and wake Jill up. And everyone comes out with me. We call the cops, they do their thing and I get it towed back to my house. Basically, I walked out there and two punks were stealing my car! I don’t know what kind of karma it was, good or bad, a little of both I guess. So I’m taking it to this guy to have it fixed today. Like my dad said, just one of those real life things.
We had Heroes Training Academy yesterday. I’m one of the team leaders for the Young Heroes so along with Evelyn (a nice lady from the community who volunteered to be a team leader as well) we have a great team of about 13 middle school kids who signed up to be in City Year’s Young Heroes program. I woke up at 5:45 to go help set up. The training lasted from 8-6. We did PT in the morning. I was on PT crew which means I got to help lead PT. It was a blast! The kids were all really into it! And of course I was too. We got to meet our teams and have our “hour one” with them. This was basically a name game, Evelyn and I gave our testimonials and why we decided to be a Young Heroes Team Leader. Then we asked all the kids why they joined Young Heroes and what they hope to get out of it. We went over some rules and expectations and had the kids make a full value contract. We ended with a couple team builders. It was a good time; the kids were great and full of energy. During lunch they got to write a letter to another middle schooler who is also doing the Young Heroes program at another City Year site. They’ll get to be pen pals with this person and talk about this experience. I thought that was really cool. We watched My Friend Martin and then played MLK jeopardy. Jill explained what a hero is and the four Cs (compassion, cooperation, courage, and commitment). We then broke off into our teams and discussed who we think is a hero and which of the four Cs they displayed. Then we made up a skit as a team to portray courage. I think all the kids on our team had a really good time coming up with the skit. And that was basically the day. I had a spectacular time. I am so glad I’m going to be a YH Team Leader. I know it’s extra time on my Saturdays, but it’s time spent doing something I really really really enjoy.
So after the training we went to see A Christmas Carol at the San Pedro Playhouse. It was the musical version so I like it a lot. Some guy fell asleep right behind Jill and I and snored up a storm. Jill left during intermission because she was zonked from the day. After we left the play is when the insanity happened.
So Matt and Robert dropped me off at Jill’s because my car was there. I go inside to get my stuff. Charles and Kristen are there so I chat with them for a minute, but no more than 15. I’m walking back out to my car and when I’m in sight of it I think I see people in my car. I thought I hallucinated. It was the trippiest thing ever. I walk closer and there are definitely people in my car so I start to think maybe it’s not my car. I’m looking around, but as I get close enough to see that it is most definitely my car and there are definitely two guys in the passenger seat and the seat behind that I just stare at them for a second. It clicks for them too that it’s my car so they hop out and run. Thank goodness… So I open my car and the paneling from around the steering wheel is gone. My car won’t start. I go back inside and wake Jill up. And everyone comes out with me. We call the cops, they do their thing and I get it towed back to my house. Basically, I walked out there and two punks were stealing my car! I don’t know what kind of karma it was, good or bad, a little of both I guess. So I’m taking it to this guy to have it fixed today. Like my dad said, just one of those real life things.
Monday, December 8, 2008
A whole month!!!
Wow. I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated. I'm so bad at this. It's been one hell of a month too. Times were tough for a long while. City Year is amazing, but intense. It kind of started to hit everyone. I was taking it in stride until Laurent left. Then things were pretty much rock bottom. I was still loving it. I mean, who wouldn't love hanging out with kids and when you aren't hanging out with them you're planning ways to teach, inspire, and connect with them. But it's typical to get burned out and we were all feeling that. But the couple weeks before Thanksgiving break things started to miraculously look up. My team had been having some issues, which were finally resolved. The connections with our kids were getting stronger and they were filling us with this unbelievable energy. So now I feel myself on the steady climb up. Back to the top of mountain where I know I belong because let's be honest. I dig this place, this work we're doing, and I wouldn't trade this experience for any other.
Jill, Kristen and I went up to Lilly's parents' place for Thanksgiving. It reminded me a lot of my dad's and that helped with the homesickness that comes along with the first holiday away from family. But my family here was a great substitute. I definitely can't wait to go back to Georgia over Christmas. Two whole weeks!!! I know it's going to fly by, but I'm going to soak up as much dad, lexie, leigh, mom, sarah, brooke, ashley, katy, layton, meredith, Athens, and pure Georgia goodness as much as humanly possible. I'm sure Koda and Falkor are going to soak up as much farm time as caninely possible.
Jill and I have been checking out the Unitarian Universalist church here. I really like it, but I've been reminded lately of what attracts me to seminary so much. It's made me think about the importance of finding a Presbyterian church here. This past weekend I went to University Pres and it seemed to fit nicely. It's kinda small, but not too small. There was an inviting group of young adults and decent youth group that I can be involved with. What really sold me is this SOL learning center the church runs. And starting in January one of the classes you can sign up for is cooking: quick, fresh and local. Needless to say I'm definitely sold. I think it's important for me to find an outlet other than City Year. As much as I love living, breathing and embodying City Year to the best of my abilty, I know it'll be healthy for me to have something else passionate in my life.
That's all the updating for now. More to come soon, I promise.
Peace.
Jill, Kristen and I went up to Lilly's parents' place for Thanksgiving. It reminded me a lot of my dad's and that helped with the homesickness that comes along with the first holiday away from family. But my family here was a great substitute. I definitely can't wait to go back to Georgia over Christmas. Two whole weeks!!! I know it's going to fly by, but I'm going to soak up as much dad, lexie, leigh, mom, sarah, brooke, ashley, katy, layton, meredith, Athens, and pure Georgia goodness as much as humanly possible. I'm sure Koda and Falkor are going to soak up as much farm time as caninely possible.
Jill and I have been checking out the Unitarian Universalist church here. I really like it, but I've been reminded lately of what attracts me to seminary so much. It's made me think about the importance of finding a Presbyterian church here. This past weekend I went to University Pres and it seemed to fit nicely. It's kinda small, but not too small. There was an inviting group of young adults and decent youth group that I can be involved with. What really sold me is this SOL learning center the church runs. And starting in January one of the classes you can sign up for is cooking: quick, fresh and local. Needless to say I'm definitely sold. I think it's important for me to find an outlet other than City Year. As much as I love living, breathing and embodying City Year to the best of my abilty, I know it'll be healthy for me to have something else passionate in my life.
That's all the updating for now. More to come soon, I promise.
Peace.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
quick update
This is going to be such an abbreviated blog update. I promise never to let this much time go by…
So Austin. It was amazing. It really is like Katy Roe says, Athens on steroids. I loved it. The feel of it, the size, the culture. It really seems to fit Layton and I could see myself there one day. But I’m glad I’m not there now. I wanted this year to be such a drastic change. And San Antonio is so different from any other place I’ve lived. So it’s perfect. I loved meeting Layton’s friends and finally feeling like our moves out here are complete. We have these amazing separate lives in separate cities, yet we are still undeniably connected. It’s inspiring.
Leigh came to visit. I cried in the airport when I saw her, if that gives you any idea of how excited I was that she was here. She ended up staying for a whole week! I took the Monday she was here off. We went exploring around San Antonio. We went to a couple of the missions. Mission Conception and the San Jose Mission. They were beautiful and we took millions of pictures which was good fun. She hung out with the puppies while I was at work and then we got to hang out. She came to work on Wednesday with us. She wasn’t too bored, which is good. A ridiculous cold front came in so when we went to see the Movie in the Park at Hemisfair it was freezing. We had a great time laughing our butts off at the Birds. Great flick. I made her get up bright and early on Friday morning to come watch us do PT at the Eastside Boys and Girls Club where our Make a Difference Day service event took place. She was entertained at least. She came to MADD on Saturday for a bit at the beginning and the end. Matt Lugo and I had a great big group of fraternity men. They were relatively productive; I could have been a stronger leader. But we got the baseball field all beatified, so it worked out. We just hung out for the rest of the weekend. And the crazy ending to her visit was the puppy! Jill found a puppy outside of their apartments and was set on keeping it or finding a home. So Leigh ended up taking it back to Atlanta. It looks like Lexie and Philip are keeping it until they find a home for it (or fall in love with it). It’s an adorable little Koda looking pup. It was great to have her visit and I’m sad she’s gone…
Alright, so the super sad news. Skip to the next paragraph is you like. I found out last Friday (24th of Oct) that Lauren was leaving. She told us on the way to our big community meeting. There is no easy way to describe how much I miss her. She was a blast and I definitely felt like I could relate to her. I loved her spirit and felt so lucky to know her. I know none of that is gone now, but it’s different when she is not right there next to me. It’s going to be harder getting to know her and building our friendship with her all the way back in New York. But it’ll be worth it.
That’s good enough for now.
PAZ.
So Austin. It was amazing. It really is like Katy Roe says, Athens on steroids. I loved it. The feel of it, the size, the culture. It really seems to fit Layton and I could see myself there one day. But I’m glad I’m not there now. I wanted this year to be such a drastic change. And San Antonio is so different from any other place I’ve lived. So it’s perfect. I loved meeting Layton’s friends and finally feeling like our moves out here are complete. We have these amazing separate lives in separate cities, yet we are still undeniably connected. It’s inspiring.
Leigh came to visit. I cried in the airport when I saw her, if that gives you any idea of how excited I was that she was here. She ended up staying for a whole week! I took the Monday she was here off. We went exploring around San Antonio. We went to a couple of the missions. Mission Conception and the San Jose Mission. They were beautiful and we took millions of pictures which was good fun. She hung out with the puppies while I was at work and then we got to hang out. She came to work on Wednesday with us. She wasn’t too bored, which is good. A ridiculous cold front came in so when we went to see the Movie in the Park at Hemisfair it was freezing. We had a great time laughing our butts off at the Birds. Great flick. I made her get up bright and early on Friday morning to come watch us do PT at the Eastside Boys and Girls Club where our Make a Difference Day service event took place. She was entertained at least. She came to MADD on Saturday for a bit at the beginning and the end. Matt Lugo and I had a great big group of fraternity men. They were relatively productive; I could have been a stronger leader. But we got the baseball field all beatified, so it worked out. We just hung out for the rest of the weekend. And the crazy ending to her visit was the puppy! Jill found a puppy outside of their apartments and was set on keeping it or finding a home. So Leigh ended up taking it back to Atlanta. It looks like Lexie and Philip are keeping it until they find a home for it (or fall in love with it). It’s an adorable little Koda looking pup. It was great to have her visit and I’m sad she’s gone…
Alright, so the super sad news. Skip to the next paragraph is you like. I found out last Friday (24th of Oct) that Lauren was leaving. She told us on the way to our big community meeting. There is no easy way to describe how much I miss her. She was a blast and I definitely felt like I could relate to her. I loved her spirit and felt so lucky to know her. I know none of that is gone now, but it’s different when she is not right there next to me. It’s going to be harder getting to know her and building our friendship with her all the way back in New York. But it’ll be worth it.
That’s good enough for now.
PAZ.
Obama on City Year
So I haven't updated in a while cause my computer has been broken. Soon there will be an update on Austin, Leigh's visit, Lauren leaving, MADD, and lots more. But in the wake of the history that was made last night I felt that this speak from Obama was necessary:
Remarks from President-elect Barack Obama during the 2006 City Year Chicago Ripples of Hope Awards Dinner
May 31, 2006
“I started out as a community organizer—that is what originally brought me to Chicago—so I am well aware, for all the City Year participants, that it is not always glamorous work. I know that you wake up sometimes, and say that ´This is too hard,´ and that ´I don’t feel like I am making enough of a difference,´ and ´I am frustrated, and nobody appreciates me,´ and that, I think, is the nature of a lot of service work. This is not a society that always values it. It certainly does not always reward it monetarily. Despite the fact that in all of life’s journeys there are always going to be disappointments and setbacks I notice that you are still doing it—you are doing it anyway, and I don’t think that it is just out of a sense of obligation. It’s not just because it makes you feel good. It’s also because you have genuinely come to care for the people that you work with—that you’ve seen the look of hope in a child’s face and that makes it worth while, that makes all the frustrations go away.”
"The only caution I have is this: as the City Year participants continue on in life it will not get easier; it will get harder. You will encounter all kinds of obstacles along the way and people who don’t put much stock in empathy. You will find people who, out of fear or the need for power, try to divide us and deny what we have in common. You will hear that American’s who sleep in the streets and beg for food got there because they’re lazy or they are weak in spirit. You will hear that immigrants, who risked their lives to cross a dessert because they just want to make a better life for their children, in fact, don’t belong here. You will hear that inner city children who are trapped in schools with not enough money—not enough resources—that these children can’t learn and won’t learn, so we should just give up on them. You will hear of innocent people who are being slaughtered or expelled from their homes, half-way around the world, are somebody else’s problem and not your problem. You are going to hear all this, and you’ll have to choose, at some point, where your obligations lie."
"Now the easiest thing in the world to do is to do nothing, to turn off the TV set or to put down the paper and to walk away from the stories about Iraq, or Darfur, or poverty, or violence, or joblessness, or hopelessness, to go about your busy lives, wishing these problems away but expecting someone else to do it. There is no community service requirement in the real world. No one forces you to care. No one demands that you extend yourself. And after you leave City Year, you can go, if you choose, to chase after big bucks and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should want. I hope you don’t do that. I hope that you don’t lose the spirit that brought you here because if you do you will be displaying a poverty of ambition. Nothing’s easier than looking after yourself, but I hope that you do what’s hard, and knowing what you have done so far I think my hope is well placed.”
Remarks from President-elect Barack Obama during the 2006 City Year Chicago Ripples of Hope Awards Dinner
May 31, 2006
“I started out as a community organizer—that is what originally brought me to Chicago—so I am well aware, for all the City Year participants, that it is not always glamorous work. I know that you wake up sometimes, and say that ´This is too hard,´ and that ´I don’t feel like I am making enough of a difference,´ and ´I am frustrated, and nobody appreciates me,´ and that, I think, is the nature of a lot of service work. This is not a society that always values it. It certainly does not always reward it monetarily. Despite the fact that in all of life’s journeys there are always going to be disappointments and setbacks I notice that you are still doing it—you are doing it anyway, and I don’t think that it is just out of a sense of obligation. It’s not just because it makes you feel good. It’s also because you have genuinely come to care for the people that you work with—that you’ve seen the look of hope in a child’s face and that makes it worth while, that makes all the frustrations go away.”
"The only caution I have is this: as the City Year participants continue on in life it will not get easier; it will get harder. You will encounter all kinds of obstacles along the way and people who don’t put much stock in empathy. You will find people who, out of fear or the need for power, try to divide us and deny what we have in common. You will hear that American’s who sleep in the streets and beg for food got there because they’re lazy or they are weak in spirit. You will hear that immigrants, who risked their lives to cross a dessert because they just want to make a better life for their children, in fact, don’t belong here. You will hear that inner city children who are trapped in schools with not enough money—not enough resources—that these children can’t learn and won’t learn, so we should just give up on them. You will hear of innocent people who are being slaughtered or expelled from their homes, half-way around the world, are somebody else’s problem and not your problem. You are going to hear all this, and you’ll have to choose, at some point, where your obligations lie."
"Now the easiest thing in the world to do is to do nothing, to turn off the TV set or to put down the paper and to walk away from the stories about Iraq, or Darfur, or poverty, or violence, or joblessness, or hopelessness, to go about your busy lives, wishing these problems away but expecting someone else to do it. There is no community service requirement in the real world. No one forces you to care. No one demands that you extend yourself. And after you leave City Year, you can go, if you choose, to chase after big bucks and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should want. I hope you don’t do that. I hope that you don’t lose the spirit that brought you here because if you do you will be displaying a poverty of ambition. Nothing’s easier than looking after yourself, but I hope that you do what’s hard, and knowing what you have done so far I think my hope is well placed.”
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