this past weekend, the lasallian volunteer program had its final retreat of the year. it was a nice weekend to relax and reflect on the past year and get ready for the summer. at our midyear retreat that was in january, we were asked to write a letter to ourselves that we would get in the future. of course, i forgot about this project and was surprised to find my letter to myself this weekend. when i read it, it summed up how i was feeling pretty well, so i figured i would share it here...
dear catherine,
you made it! one whole year of volunteering in racine, wisconsin. a place that you NEVER thought you could live, work, or adjust to.
while there have been struggles and challenges throughout the year, there have also been many successes and triumphs. you have been able to conquer many new tasks and have learned what that "i've never done that before" is no longer an excuse!
you have made new friends, kept in touch with old ones, formed relationships, and ultimately changed the way you look at the world- not bad for 9 months time :)
as you continue on your journey of service, never lose sight of who you are, what you are passionate about, and why you are doing what you are doing. a path has been laid for you and good things are in your future!
don't forget to take time for yourself, continue to speak up, and do what makes you happy. you have many gifts and talents to offer and those that you work with are lucky to have you in their lives. and you are lucky to have them too!! :)
love, cath
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
have a little faith
it amazes me that sometimes no matter how much i do things the same way, i get different results. i can spend one day with kids at the center and not have to ask anyone to be quiet or stay on task and then there are other days when i feel like i all i do is argue, reason, and beg with the kids to do the homework that they came to the center to do in the first place. there is no doubt that it is frustrating, but i cant get mad at the kids for acting like kids. so the next day i just start over and have some faith that it can only get better from yesterday.
this is also the case with one of the high school students in particular. sometimes he can work and finish 5 math assignments in one session and other days he will spend an hour and half goofing around and only end up finishing one math problem. so whats the issue? why is that one day he can come in and do all his work with no problems and the next day i spend 99% of my time with him feeling like i am interacting with and talking to an elementary school student?
this student is BEYOND capable of doing his work and is very intelligent, but his whole life, his family has never expected much of him. his family doesnt see his potential and it is disappointing. on more than one occasion, his mother has told me that there is no way that this student will ever go to college, he is not a good student, and he will ultimately end up working in a technical trade when he graduates from high school. and while choosing to work in a trade is fine, i know that this student can achieve much more than that. he loves to build things and almost understands geometry better than i do. the way in which is thinks would be perfect for pursuing a career in engineering or architecture, but these things are "out of the question" because he is "not college bound".
i suppose that when you have heard for 17 years of your life that you are a class clown, have little academic potential, and are not expected to go to college, it is easy to goof off and not care about your school work even when you are smart enough and have the potential to excel. and while i cant control what has happened in this students past, i have faith that i can hopefully help him realize how smart he really is for the future. i just wish that his family and teachers and the other adults he interacts with would be able to look past his frustrating behavior and be able to see the potential that he has. maybe thats all he needs. im not sure how much of a difference one person can make in changing his attitude, but its worth a shot! maybe all he needs is someone to have a little faith in him and then he can feel the same way about himself.
this is also the case with one of the high school students in particular. sometimes he can work and finish 5 math assignments in one session and other days he will spend an hour and half goofing around and only end up finishing one math problem. so whats the issue? why is that one day he can come in and do all his work with no problems and the next day i spend 99% of my time with him feeling like i am interacting with and talking to an elementary school student?
this student is BEYOND capable of doing his work and is very intelligent, but his whole life, his family has never expected much of him. his family doesnt see his potential and it is disappointing. on more than one occasion, his mother has told me that there is no way that this student will ever go to college, he is not a good student, and he will ultimately end up working in a technical trade when he graduates from high school. and while choosing to work in a trade is fine, i know that this student can achieve much more than that. he loves to build things and almost understands geometry better than i do. the way in which is thinks would be perfect for pursuing a career in engineering or architecture, but these things are "out of the question" because he is "not college bound".
i suppose that when you have heard for 17 years of your life that you are a class clown, have little academic potential, and are not expected to go to college, it is easy to goof off and not care about your school work even when you are smart enough and have the potential to excel. and while i cant control what has happened in this students past, i have faith that i can hopefully help him realize how smart he really is for the future. i just wish that his family and teachers and the other adults he interacts with would be able to look past his frustrating behavior and be able to see the potential that he has. maybe thats all he needs. im not sure how much of a difference one person can make in changing his attitude, but its worth a shot! maybe all he needs is someone to have a little faith in him and then he can feel the same way about himself.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
the homestretch
one of the students who comes to the center always tries to convince me that not doing her homework every night like she is supposed to and then just spending one entire night working on all her missing assignments right before mid quarter grades come out is the best idea that anyone has ever come up with. although i can follow her reasoning, i cant agree with her. i remind her that while this plan works for now, she may not always be lucky enough to be able to finish all her work in one night and remind her that the quality of her work is probably not her best because of the very fact that there is so much of it.
ironically enough, tonight, i find myself in the same situation. i have put off updating this for about 2 weeks because "i havent felt like it" or "im too tired" or "i have too many other things to do" and i have come to terms with the fact that this probably means that what i am about to write wont do justice to what i have been up to for the past 14 days but i am going to do my best...
last time i blogged, we were finishing up our spring break, which i spent in minneapolis visiting erin and lizzy, the two lasallian volunteers there. minneapolis was a great little city and had some cool stuff. i kind of forgot that i was in the midwest while i was there. its much more urban than i expected. it was nice to have a change of scenery and spend some time in a new place, putting me one state closer to completing my goal of visiting all 50 states!
after spring break, it was back to work. i really did miss the kids while i was away although i didnt mind having a break! it was nice to get back into a routine and hear what they did while they were off from school. we got to celebrate cinco de mayo for our activity complete with a pinata!
desiree and i also spent a day in madison, which was a nice little trip. we went to the botanical gardens, the state capitol, an art museum, and spent some time just walking around. it was fun and it was nice to see wisconsins capital city.
today we had an end of the year celebration for the center. all the students, their families, mentors, tutors, and donors were invited to celebrate the success we have had this year and honor those students who will be graduating from high school in the upcoming weeks. it is always nice to see the kids with their families and i usually get a kick out of meeting some of the students parents after i imagine what they are like! it was a nice day and i could tell that the students and parents really do appreciate what we do at the center which is always reassuring.
as for the rest of the year...it is short! in only 3 and a half weeks i will be back on the east coast for summer. and i know that it is going to be a quick 3 and half weeks with all the things that are going on. next weekend is prom, which means that there is a giant parade for all the kids. its a big deal here... check it out! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Best_Prom), the following weekend we have our final lasallian volunteer retreat with everyone in the program, and the weekend after that desiree and i are taking the kids mini golfing as an end of the year field trip.
in some ways i think this might be the hardest part of the year so far. i feel like i am so anxious for summer and being able to see everyone again, but at the same time i know that it can be super dangerous to be in that mindset when i have things to focus on and do here. i am trying my best to keep both my feet in one place but it is tempting to want to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future.
nothing too deep or insightful this time around...just a little update on what i have been doing these past two weeks. i promise to not be such a procrastinator for the next 3 and a half weeks when it comes to updating this. but after that im taking a vacation! :)
ironically enough, tonight, i find myself in the same situation. i have put off updating this for about 2 weeks because "i havent felt like it" or "im too tired" or "i have too many other things to do" and i have come to terms with the fact that this probably means that what i am about to write wont do justice to what i have been up to for the past 14 days but i am going to do my best...
last time i blogged, we were finishing up our spring break, which i spent in minneapolis visiting erin and lizzy, the two lasallian volunteers there. minneapolis was a great little city and had some cool stuff. i kind of forgot that i was in the midwest while i was there. its much more urban than i expected. it was nice to have a change of scenery and spend some time in a new place, putting me one state closer to completing my goal of visiting all 50 states!
after spring break, it was back to work. i really did miss the kids while i was away although i didnt mind having a break! it was nice to get back into a routine and hear what they did while they were off from school. we got to celebrate cinco de mayo for our activity complete with a pinata!
desiree and i also spent a day in madison, which was a nice little trip. we went to the botanical gardens, the state capitol, an art museum, and spent some time just walking around. it was fun and it was nice to see wisconsins capital city.
today we had an end of the year celebration for the center. all the students, their families, mentors, tutors, and donors were invited to celebrate the success we have had this year and honor those students who will be graduating from high school in the upcoming weeks. it is always nice to see the kids with their families and i usually get a kick out of meeting some of the students parents after i imagine what they are like! it was a nice day and i could tell that the students and parents really do appreciate what we do at the center which is always reassuring.
as for the rest of the year...it is short! in only 3 and a half weeks i will be back on the east coast for summer. and i know that it is going to be a quick 3 and half weeks with all the things that are going on. next weekend is prom, which means that there is a giant parade for all the kids. its a big deal here... check it out! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Best_Prom), the following weekend we have our final lasallian volunteer retreat with everyone in the program, and the weekend after that desiree and i are taking the kids mini golfing as an end of the year field trip.
in some ways i think this might be the hardest part of the year so far. i feel like i am so anxious for summer and being able to see everyone again, but at the same time i know that it can be super dangerous to be in that mindset when i have things to focus on and do here. i am trying my best to keep both my feet in one place but it is tempting to want to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future.
nothing too deep or insightful this time around...just a little update on what i have been doing these past two weeks. i promise to not be such a procrastinator for the next 3 and a half weeks when it comes to updating this. but after that im taking a vacation! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)