Today I'm thankful to intentionally reflect on my AmeriCorps work up until this point. I have been officially serving as a Promise Fellow for over a month now! A realization to which one of my supervisors responded in jest, "That means you must know what you're doing, so we can pile more on, right?" Since my first meeting on February 20th, I have logged over 200 out of the 900 hours that I need to complete by October, or effectively mid-August for me before I start my service year program in Tucson, and I just submitted my first monthly progress report!
I'm thankful for this blog, also, because one of the tasks in that report is to share a "great story" about something meaningful that has arisen from this service work, and I could effectively draw greatly from the reflections I have already shared about my work in this blogosphere! Thank you, readers, for just being there for me.
May the "Aguas de Março," "Waters of March," sing you to sleep soundly tonight. I had to dodge some of those March waters today, but it was worth it for the first bike ride of the spring!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Today I'm thankful for a long but good day chaperoning college visits for a few of our high schoolers. I appreciated the time to reflect on my own college experience and the choices I encountered in that decision-making process, as well as the options available to me because of factors such as family support, hard work in high school, and some other gifts I have been born with. It was actually the first time I ever toured a college or university larger than 3000 students because I knew I wanted to go to a small school, so it was fun to see how our students received and processed each environment. I'm also thankful for the time to hang out with the students in our van - boy did we have a lot of that time! Four hours from Northfield to Fargo and back later in the day... Thank goodness for books to read, glittering snow out the windows (that really should be gone sometime soon...), and conversations with students to assess where they are at in the post-secondary discernment process.
One girl, who can be a little rough around the edges, just completely opened up to me and shared a lot of her life story so that I would understand her better, which is exactly how I like to relate to people. I like to understand some of their past to see how it has shaped their present. We cannot change our past, but we can take what we have experienced up until this point in our lives to better understand what we are called to do in the time we have left here. She explained how she ended up in a dark place as a result of a few people in her life treating her like no person should ever be treated, but that she has somehow been carried through to the light by a couple of guardian angels. I'm thankful she has been dealt some good fortune as well as had several good people advocate for her. Good work, God.
Though they will not be perfect, may all days be good days! May you find love and joy, and may those moments outweigh whatever hardship, pain, or mess that threaten to bring you under. May you ride the waves of grace!
One girl, who can be a little rough around the edges, just completely opened up to me and shared a lot of her life story so that I would understand her better, which is exactly how I like to relate to people. I like to understand some of their past to see how it has shaped their present. We cannot change our past, but we can take what we have experienced up until this point in our lives to better understand what we are called to do in the time we have left here. She explained how she ended up in a dark place as a result of a few people in her life treating her like no person should ever be treated, but that she has somehow been carried through to the light by a couple of guardian angels. I'm thankful she has been dealt some good fortune as well as had several good people advocate for her. Good work, God.
Though they will not be perfect, may all days be good days! May you find love and joy, and may those moments outweigh whatever hardship, pain, or mess that threaten to bring you under. May you ride the waves of grace!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Today I'm thankful for a flexible weekend for work, food, friends, and reflection. I'm thankful for company to have the excuse and extra hands to make spring rolls on Friday night, and I'm thankful for hours to spend on Saturday preparing food for the rest of the week. I'm thankful to always have enough to eat and enough time to even experiment with some cooking projects.
I'm thankful for the opportunity for "professional development" this past week as well. I got to pile in the car with three other AmeriCorps friends working in schools in Northfield and drive up to St. Thomas for a conference called "How are the Children?" on the status of education equity and the achievement gap. While it was primarily focused on how to address how schools and the public education system can better serve African American children in the Twin Cities, I am so thankful that there are rooms full of people coming together to talk about what we can do to love and encourage each child. I'm thankful to gain more tools to understand each child's circumstances and to love each child because of and in spite of their behavior. It's funny being inspired and frustrated all at the same time. I'm thankful to now have opportunities to figure out where we as impermanent AmeriCorps members can fit within the giant scope of education access and engagement apply some of what we learned within our context of serving a mostly Latino population.
I'm also thankful for an incredible conversation I had in a guidance session with a student I have been meeting with a few times about his post-high school options. He desperately wants to be the first in his family to go to college but is understandably nervous about the financial aspect, and being the middle child of five complicates things further. Another bump in the road: he was almost a high school dropout. But he says he woke up one day and saw people his age passing him by. He was perhaps not hanging out with the "right crowd" either, but in his words, he "went from bad kid to good kid."
I cannot imagine this young man as a "bad kid." He has such a naturally good heart that just melted mine. Every time I see him he asks how my day and week have been. While for so much of his life, he went through the motions in school and his limited natural ability for math coupled with lack of engagement means he needs to go to back to the basics to learn his times tables (because those are actually applicable in real life situations), in his recent history he made the link between pursuing an education and having a better future. In the face of educational assessments that he says make him feel stupid, he now cannot wait to get his diploma. He wants college so badly, and though we are talking about the right next step in his educational path, if he has to take the ACT he said he'll do it even though he put it in terms of the ACT fee equating to three days worth of meals.
He is also concerned about leaving his friends behind even though he does not want them to "drag him down" as he admitted. How alone can that make you feel. He is trying to be the first in his family to go to college, and definitely the first in his social circle, and it will be a huge adjustment, but I am so thankful to be able to learn from him as well as how appreciative he has been in asking my advice and opinions on so many aspects about college and the world beyond Northfield.
I was amazed also how he used the word "blessed" when I was navigating explaining why I have been so fortunate to have been born into a family that prioritized education and travel and had the means to do so. Because I have been so accustomed to a nerdy household, a globally aware and socially conscious church community, and an intellectually stimulating college environment, I have taken for granted people being aware of language and exposed to the world. In many respects, this young man has been shut off from it, but he feels comfortable asking me about ways to have fun in college that do not involve getting drunk, about studying abroad in China and how receptive people are there to people from the U.S., and about ways to pay for an education that would give him tools to capitalize on his strengths of social skills, empathy, and wanting to take care of others. He likes to learn. He has a natural, nerdy curiosity and a unique self-awareness that should serve him well if he is given the right opportunities.
Working with him just makes me think even more about circumstances and choices. We often cannot change the circumstances we are given, as just for one example, he was born into a family that may or may not support his drive to go to college, but he woke up one day and decided an education was how he could give back to his family because they have already done so much for him. How could you not be touched by that? I am so blessed to work with him and learn from him, perhaps more than he says he is learning from me, and I am nervous for his challenges ahead but excited to see where life takes him.
I'm thankful for the opportunity for "professional development" this past week as well. I got to pile in the car with three other AmeriCorps friends working in schools in Northfield and drive up to St. Thomas for a conference called "How are the Children?" on the status of education equity and the achievement gap. While it was primarily focused on how to address how schools and the public education system can better serve African American children in the Twin Cities, I am so thankful that there are rooms full of people coming together to talk about what we can do to love and encourage each child. I'm thankful to gain more tools to understand each child's circumstances and to love each child because of and in spite of their behavior. It's funny being inspired and frustrated all at the same time. I'm thankful to now have opportunities to figure out where we as impermanent AmeriCorps members can fit within the giant scope of education access and engagement apply some of what we learned within our context of serving a mostly Latino population.
I'm also thankful for an incredible conversation I had in a guidance session with a student I have been meeting with a few times about his post-high school options. He desperately wants to be the first in his family to go to college but is understandably nervous about the financial aspect, and being the middle child of five complicates things further. Another bump in the road: he was almost a high school dropout. But he says he woke up one day and saw people his age passing him by. He was perhaps not hanging out with the "right crowd" either, but in his words, he "went from bad kid to good kid."
I cannot imagine this young man as a "bad kid." He has such a naturally good heart that just melted mine. Every time I see him he asks how my day and week have been. While for so much of his life, he went through the motions in school and his limited natural ability for math coupled with lack of engagement means he needs to go to back to the basics to learn his times tables (because those are actually applicable in real life situations), in his recent history he made the link between pursuing an education and having a better future. In the face of educational assessments that he says make him feel stupid, he now cannot wait to get his diploma. He wants college so badly, and though we are talking about the right next step in his educational path, if he has to take the ACT he said he'll do it even though he put it in terms of the ACT fee equating to three days worth of meals.
He is also concerned about leaving his friends behind even though he does not want them to "drag him down" as he admitted. How alone can that make you feel. He is trying to be the first in his family to go to college, and definitely the first in his social circle, and it will be a huge adjustment, but I am so thankful to be able to learn from him as well as how appreciative he has been in asking my advice and opinions on so many aspects about college and the world beyond Northfield.
I was amazed also how he used the word "blessed" when I was navigating explaining why I have been so fortunate to have been born into a family that prioritized education and travel and had the means to do so. Because I have been so accustomed to a nerdy household, a globally aware and socially conscious church community, and an intellectually stimulating college environment, I have taken for granted people being aware of language and exposed to the world. In many respects, this young man has been shut off from it, but he feels comfortable asking me about ways to have fun in college that do not involve getting drunk, about studying abroad in China and how receptive people are there to people from the U.S., and about ways to pay for an education that would give him tools to capitalize on his strengths of social skills, empathy, and wanting to take care of others. He likes to learn. He has a natural, nerdy curiosity and a unique self-awareness that should serve him well if he is given the right opportunities.
Working with him just makes me think even more about circumstances and choices. We often cannot change the circumstances we are given, as just for one example, he was born into a family that may or may not support his drive to go to college, but he woke up one day and decided an education was how he could give back to his family because they have already done so much for him. How could you not be touched by that? I am so blessed to work with him and learn from him, perhaps more than he says he is learning from me, and I am nervous for his challenges ahead but excited to see where life takes him.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Today I'm thankful for random sparks with high schoolers such as a couple of my charter school Zumba kids recognizing me in public and out of context, the opportunity to give even one girl something fun and constructive to do after school with a night of UNO and bananagrams over her usual boredom at home, and ethical discussions in the TORCH office and "Why don't more people with so much power use it for good?".
I'm thankful for a wonderful few days last week with a visit from one of my lovely college roommates, proving that even if we don't stay in touch well, our Carleton connection and friendship has meant something and has extended into the real world. Though her stay was short, I'm thankful to have had that little time with her to have a roommate again, to catch up, and to be little old ladies and just cook/eat/talk and sleep at early hours.
And I'm so thankful for placement in Tucson for a year of service starting late August with the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Young Adult Volunteer program! I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to work with Latino communities there and get more direct experience with issues of social justice, migration, and solidarity work with Latin America. Plus as Minnesota is getting smacked with another snowstorm in mid-March, I am definitely excited for warm weather next winter.
I have also been inspired by a long-time friend who I never expected to talk about faith with, but our friendship has remained strong over the years and our journeys to faith have even somewhat converged. How amazing to hear her experience being touched by God recently in ways she might not understand though she knows she has felt changed. She passed along this quote to me too: "During your times of trial and suffering, when you only see one set of footprints it was then that I carried you." Though you may not see it or feel it, God is there with you no matter what, and God loves you no matter what. It may be a process, but once you attune your senses, open your eyes to God's wonders, the evidence is everywhere! May we live in that love.
I'm thankful for a wonderful few days last week with a visit from one of my lovely college roommates, proving that even if we don't stay in touch well, our Carleton connection and friendship has meant something and has extended into the real world. Though her stay was short, I'm thankful to have had that little time with her to have a roommate again, to catch up, and to be little old ladies and just cook/eat/talk and sleep at early hours.
And I'm so thankful for placement in Tucson for a year of service starting late August with the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Young Adult Volunteer program! I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to work with Latino communities there and get more direct experience with issues of social justice, migration, and solidarity work with Latin America. Plus as Minnesota is getting smacked with another snowstorm in mid-March, I am definitely excited for warm weather next winter.
I have also been inspired by a long-time friend who I never expected to talk about faith with, but our friendship has remained strong over the years and our journeys to faith have even somewhat converged. How amazing to hear her experience being touched by God recently in ways she might not understand though she knows she has felt changed. She passed along this quote to me too: "During your times of trial and suffering, when you only see one set of footprints it was then that I carried you." Though you may not see it or feel it, God is there with you no matter what, and God loves you no matter what. It may be a process, but once you attune your senses, open your eyes to God's wonders, the evidence is everywhere! May we live in that love.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
From the last few days when I've been slacking on writing here... I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to just talk with one of my supervisors, the coordinator of the TORCH program at Northfield High School. We had organized a two-hour window to be available on Thursday night for any parents to come ask us anything they wanted to know about credits, college access, and paying for their child's education, but most of the time we did not have parents and just hung out. I am learning so much from her, and that night even further highlighted this incredible opportunity to work with the TORCH program that is truly an anomaly in Minnesota. My home state now has the highest achievement gap between overall and minority graduation rates in the entire country, but the TORCH program has raised the Latino (largest minority group in Northfield by far) from 60 percent to 96 percent in the last six years due to some ingenuity and drive to constantly be thinking of new ways to serve the low-income and minority students of Northfield. Now high schools around the state, including my alma mater, Hopkins, are looking to hopefully not replicate but model programs after TORCH to better serve their own populations and affirm the potential of all students, especially those who may face greater challenges to their education such as home life and other outside factors. I'm so blessed to serve here and learn so much from this program, from these kids, and from those who are dedicated to walking with them!
I'm also thankful for whomever invented direct deposit so I get the pleasant surprises of some hard work translating into the ability to sustain myself.
I'm thankful for all the ways my friends and family made my birthday special and took the time to show me their love. Even if it meant too much birthday cake in too little time - thank goodness for a silly dance party djed by one of my talented friends to take care of some of that sugar!
I'm thankful for falling asleep to rain on Saturday night. And I'm thankful temperatures did not dip low enough to freeze that rain and make driving or walking dangerous. I look forward to the spring thaw so I can start biking around Northfield!
I'm thankful for how many St. Lukers turned out for my adult education hour presentation about my Cuba delegation experience, especially with Daylight Savings Time! Usually "spring ahead" will trip a good number of people up so that they arrive fifteen minutes early for the 10:30 service when they were intending to make it for the 9:15 education hour, but it was amazing to have a packed room to listen to my stories, see pictures from my trip, (hopefully) appreciate my nerdiness about Cuba and sustainable development, and to work in solidarity for the US-Cuba relationship. I'm so grateful for further invitations to share about my Cuba experience to a small group through the church as well as possibly at other congregations around the Cities to continue raising awareness about what we as concerned U.S. citizens can do to help normalize relations between Cuba and the U.S. (Please consider taking 20 seconds to sign this petition: http://signon.org/sign/cuba-is-not-a-sponsor-of-terrorism - thank you!).
And I'm thankful for our interim youth pastor's sermon with a new take on the story of the prodigal son. Did you know that "prodigal" means extravagant, wasteful, excessive, etc.? While more typical and still-powerful sermons focus on the wastefulness of the son who denied his father and took his inheritance only to squander it, or even the extravagance lavished in celebration of his return, our pastor today highlighted the "prodigalness" of God. That God's strength and love are so extravagant and excessive that they are beyond comprehension. When it might be human nature to cut your losses with the one lost sheep out of 100, God never gives up searching and is overjoyed when that last sheep makes it home. That love reaches out to us, excessive beyond comprehension, "recklessly extravagant" as Dictionary.com would have it. An extravagance of love, and the riches of that love and the fulness of the Spirit are all there for those who love God! You do not need to have everything figured out, you just have to try to follow the shepherd and live in love.
I'm also thankful for whomever invented direct deposit so I get the pleasant surprises of some hard work translating into the ability to sustain myself.
I'm thankful for all the ways my friends and family made my birthday special and took the time to show me their love. Even if it meant too much birthday cake in too little time - thank goodness for a silly dance party djed by one of my talented friends to take care of some of that sugar!
I'm thankful for falling asleep to rain on Saturday night. And I'm thankful temperatures did not dip low enough to freeze that rain and make driving or walking dangerous. I look forward to the spring thaw so I can start biking around Northfield!
I'm thankful for how many St. Lukers turned out for my adult education hour presentation about my Cuba delegation experience, especially with Daylight Savings Time! Usually "spring ahead" will trip a good number of people up so that they arrive fifteen minutes early for the 10:30 service when they were intending to make it for the 9:15 education hour, but it was amazing to have a packed room to listen to my stories, see pictures from my trip, (hopefully) appreciate my nerdiness about Cuba and sustainable development, and to work in solidarity for the US-Cuba relationship. I'm so grateful for further invitations to share about my Cuba experience to a small group through the church as well as possibly at other congregations around the Cities to continue raising awareness about what we as concerned U.S. citizens can do to help normalize relations between Cuba and the U.S. (Please consider taking 20 seconds to sign this petition: http://signon.org/sign/cuba-is-not-a-sponsor-of-terrorism - thank you!).
And I'm thankful for our interim youth pastor's sermon with a new take on the story of the prodigal son. Did you know that "prodigal" means extravagant, wasteful, excessive, etc.? While more typical and still-powerful sermons focus on the wastefulness of the son who denied his father and took his inheritance only to squander it, or even the extravagance lavished in celebration of his return, our pastor today highlighted the "prodigalness" of God. That God's strength and love are so extravagant and excessive that they are beyond comprehension. When it might be human nature to cut your losses with the one lost sheep out of 100, God never gives up searching and is overjoyed when that last sheep makes it home. That love reaches out to us, excessive beyond comprehension, "recklessly extravagant" as Dictionary.com would have it. An extravagance of love, and the riches of that love and the fulness of the Spirit are all there for those who love God! You do not need to have everything figured out, you just have to try to follow the shepherd and live in love.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Today I'm thankful for a smooth first day at a new site for my AmeriCorps work and the phrase "too blessed to be stressed" popping up on the radio on my drive there. I'm thankful for a box full of squishy plums that came home with my housemate who works at the co-op. And I'm thankful for the outpouring of love I received in the form of
messages, notes, phone calls, singing voicemails, gifts, and more from
my dear friends and family. My deepest gratitude and blessings to you
all!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I've lived in Minnesota my entire life, and my third snow day ever comes after I've graduated college? Thanks Northfield! Man,
even when I hate Minnesota (for dumping so much snow on us), I love
Minnesota (for how the snow sparkles in the sun, for snow days, and for
how an anonymous neighbor down the block just continued on with their
snowblower and did our sidewalk too!). Minnesnowta Nice definitely won out today.
I'm thankful to have had time, focus, and motivation to crank out another Cuba blog entry (I'm working through it slowly, we just learned and did so much!) today during my snow day. If you're interested, this entry is from when we met with a tobacco farmer and with popular educators who were part of Cuba's revolutionary (double meaning intended) literacy campaign in the early 1960's: http://kemstravels.blogspot.com/2013/03/1213-alberto-and-lucia.html
And I'm thankful for the great work IFSA (Carleton's InterFaith Social Action group) is doing to raise awareness about immigration policy, how it affects the Northfield community, and especially contextualizing how the status of being undocumented affects one's future in terms of opportunities for education and work in this country. IFSA has put together a presentation to deliver on the dorm floors at the scheduled study breaks, and I encourage you to take the six minutes to watch this video they've chosen as one of the pieces, even if you're a Carleton student who may receive this presentation in a few weeks: Illegal.
There are almost two million undocumented children under the age of 18 in this country, and many of them really only know this country as their home. I think one of the most powerful reminders in this video is that with regard to students and their education, we should not punish them for being brought here by family as minors, but rather give them opportunities to follow their dreams and passions and contribute to this society they call home. In my book, hopelessness is one of the most dangerous things a human being can face. There are kids who are in school and see no point in trying or doing well because they think they have no chance of going to college (and many of them don't because without financial aid from the government or the school, cost of tuition is itself prohibitive), so what do they do? They get stuck figuring out other ways to provide for their families when they need the system to work for them to end the cycle of poverty. You do not have to agree with me on politics, just please watch the video, see how undocumented status affects the lives of these students, and reflect on the privileges and hurdles you have encountered.
With that, dear readers, I'll leave you with this lovely Brandon Heath song: Give Me Your Eyes.
I'm thankful to have had some time with this house empty to just walk around singing. That has been so refreshing the last few days, praise God!
I'm thankful to have had time, focus, and motivation to crank out another Cuba blog entry (I'm working through it slowly, we just learned and did so much!) today during my snow day. If you're interested, this entry is from when we met with a tobacco farmer and with popular educators who were part of Cuba's revolutionary (double meaning intended) literacy campaign in the early 1960's: http://kemstravels.blogspot.com/2013/03/1213-alberto-and-lucia.html
And I'm thankful for the great work IFSA (Carleton's InterFaith Social Action group) is doing to raise awareness about immigration policy, how it affects the Northfield community, and especially contextualizing how the status of being undocumented affects one's future in terms of opportunities for education and work in this country. IFSA has put together a presentation to deliver on the dorm floors at the scheduled study breaks, and I encourage you to take the six minutes to watch this video they've chosen as one of the pieces, even if you're a Carleton student who may receive this presentation in a few weeks: Illegal.
There are almost two million undocumented children under the age of 18 in this country, and many of them really only know this country as their home. I think one of the most powerful reminders in this video is that with regard to students and their education, we should not punish them for being brought here by family as minors, but rather give them opportunities to follow their dreams and passions and contribute to this society they call home. In my book, hopelessness is one of the most dangerous things a human being can face. There are kids who are in school and see no point in trying or doing well because they think they have no chance of going to college (and many of them don't because without financial aid from the government or the school, cost of tuition is itself prohibitive), so what do they do? They get stuck figuring out other ways to provide for their families when they need the system to work for them to end the cycle of poverty. You do not have to agree with me on politics, just please watch the video, see how undocumented status affects the lives of these students, and reflect on the privileges and hurdles you have encountered.
With that, dear readers, I'll leave you with this lovely Brandon Heath song: Give Me Your Eyes.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Today I'm thankful that "It's the sour moments in life that make the sweet ones sweeter." I'm just so blessed to be in a good place. I find joy in my work and the variety that life has for me each and every day even though I am on more of a set schedule now. Routine is healthy for me, and I have gotten into a good work groove. In my personal life, I'm thankful to have entered a lighter season, and I was so filled by Mustard Seed tonight and ended up in silly mode following the service - I'm thankful that my friends put up with that and I hope I spread a little joy as they are entering into the end-of-term stress!
I'm also thankful for all of the ways my family has supported and prioritized my education. I am thankful that huge blessing that has opened so many doors for me is even more contextualized now every day in my AmeriCorps work as I can serve as academic support for kids who need someone to push them but also to help them realize that higher education (and affording it!) is possible. And someone to believe in them. I never thought I would be working in education, much less ending up with some one-on-one meetings like helping a mainly Spanish-speaking student learn American history (and not just copy the book for his homework) by translating much of his textbook aloud (while puzzling over the fact that he probably should be in ESL so he can actually do the kind of learning he needs to do...), and guiding a super-senior at the alternative high school through his post-secondary education thoughts as he works to be the first in his family to pursue a college degree. But equality of opportunity for God's children is something I so strongly believe in, and I am so blessed to be an environment to strive to level the educational playing field for a lot of kids that have been disadvantaged by the educational system due to home life and financial struggles. I'm thankful for all of the ways God has worked to open doors in my life through people, challenges, and opportunities, and I hope God is using me to open doors for others who are seeking them. May you, dear readers, wherever you are in life, find what God calls you to do with each day, and may you seek and encounter ways to share God's love, strength, and confidence in others that cross your path and may just need someone to believe in them!
I'm also thankful for all of the ways my family has supported and prioritized my education. I am thankful that huge blessing that has opened so many doors for me is even more contextualized now every day in my AmeriCorps work as I can serve as academic support for kids who need someone to push them but also to help them realize that higher education (and affording it!) is possible. And someone to believe in them. I never thought I would be working in education, much less ending up with some one-on-one meetings like helping a mainly Spanish-speaking student learn American history (and not just copy the book for his homework) by translating much of his textbook aloud (while puzzling over the fact that he probably should be in ESL so he can actually do the kind of learning he needs to do...), and guiding a super-senior at the alternative high school through his post-secondary education thoughts as he works to be the first in his family to pursue a college degree. But equality of opportunity for God's children is something I so strongly believe in, and I am so blessed to be an environment to strive to level the educational playing field for a lot of kids that have been disadvantaged by the educational system due to home life and financial struggles. I'm thankful for all of the ways God has worked to open doors in my life through people, challenges, and opportunities, and I hope God is using me to open doors for others who are seeking them. May you, dear readers, wherever you are in life, find what God calls you to do with each day, and may you seek and encounter ways to share God's love, strength, and confidence in others that cross your path and may just need someone to believe in them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)