Since I only serve in AmeriCorps part-time right now, I've been trying to fill the rest of my hours with extreme productivity. One of my self-appointed tasks is to find an agent or publisher for some of my writing. My dream is to make enough money, on my own time, to fund frequent volunteer trips for the rest of my life.
Another hobby I've picked up is knitting, because it's something I can do while watching TV. I simply can't justify sitting for even half an hour and getting nothing done! Pictured here is the planner cover I knitted for Carly, because she was worried that her planner would get banged up in her purse. I was pretty excited that I made something without a pattern!
For any of you who love knitting, I'd recommend knitting baby hats and blankets for charity. There is nothing better than knowing that, while I watched an episode of Glee, I created something that will keep a baby warm : )
As for the career news - AmeriCorps is going pretty well. For those of you who don't know, I am currently serving a year with the YWCA's "Race Against Racism" program. It's basically an anti-bullying, diversity-awareness program that I teach to kids in after school programs. Three days a week, I teach in the Gahanna school district, and twice a week I teach the program at the Family Center (YWCA's homeless shelter). The Family Center is by far my biggest challenge, partly because the age group there is skewing older right now, and partly because the kids' situations create a lot of distractions. Pretty much every day, someone is sobbing or threatening to run away, which makes it hard to keep the other kids focused on my curriculum.
The other day, though, we did a project about names. Some of the kids actually seemed happy to participate (a first!), and when we started the discussion on "put-downs" I felt like I actually connected with them a little bit. I asked, "What happens when you use a put-down?" and one of the older girls raised her hand and said, "Because maybe the person you're teasing is very sensitive, and if you keep saying mean things to them, day after day, they might do...you know, suicide."
The word "suicide" seemed to catch everyone's attention for a brief moment. I took the opportunity to say, "L --- brings up a really good point. You never know if the person you're teasing is very sensitive, or has something really bad going on at home, so you need to pay attention to how your words make them feel."
For once, I actually saw them nod in agreement! Of course, two minutes later we had degenerated into running around and laughing instead of listening, but whatever. For a moment there, they were all looking seriously at me, and I could tell that what I said was sinking in. It was a good day!
1 comments:
Its tough to hear young people talking about suicide but getting it out in the open has to be a plus. Kids always think they are the only ones when actually they are one of many who share the same problems.
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