Natalie- 826 Chicago- Day Five

What a fantastic final day. After the normal L-train ride and breakfast of muffins and toast, we knocked on the door of the Boring Store for the last time.

Kendra, the volunteer coordinator, sent us out on the streets of Chicago, armed with our smartphones (for navigation purposes) and an armful of 826 PR materials. We canvassed local coffee shops and bakeries, spreading the good word of the organization.

Over the course of the next few hours, we explored some of the most hipster and amazing-smelling locales in Wicker Park. I may have bought a delicious chocolate pastry and a balsamic fig macaroon. Also a ginger and peach Kombucha drink. Because I’m that fancy.

We ate a delicious lunch of cheese sticks, Greek yogurt and PB&Js made with jelly donated from a local coffee shop. The six of us worked on small things around the site, like finding a local store to donate paint and primer for a fundraiser and finishing our clean-up of the Boring Store.

As we were saying goodbye to all of the awesome leadership at 826 Chicago, they gave us certificates for volunteering there, a free book written by the kids, and spy name badges with our pictures on them. These folks are some of the sweetest people on the planet.

Ever-faithful Jayhawks, we headed to the Crossing, a KU-centric sports bar to watch the game, decked out in our Kansas apparel. Despite having to watch the game out in the cold Chi-town air, we had a blast and spoiler alert, we won the game against WVU.

Nothing we did this week felt like work. I am so fortunate to have spent the last week with a group of fabulous females, learning about our amazing site. I was blown away by the respect that the employees at 826 had for each other and the incredibly mission-driven aspect of this organization. As Ashley said – those who can do, teach. I loved tutoring Cristian, making up prompts for Yesi at the writing table, and helping Malik create his Grim Reaper short story.

Yes, I’m stressed about what I’m going back to, but I love what I’ve learned, and the inspiring and ingenious people I have met this week. I have so enjoyed being a Site Leader with Bailey and without her leadership we would not be as unified. She is brilliant at knowing when to take charge, ask for input and claims the respect of others easily.

Thanks, Alternative Breaks, 826 Chicago and my lovely ladies Maddy, Tilyn, Megan, Ashley and Bailey. You rock.

Natalie- 826 Chicago- Day Four

Regardless of my lack of loquaciousness today, we had an amazingly long and full day.

The whole group started up the morning with a field trip at the site. Third graders are the bomb. They are full of more enthusiasm and brilliance than I’ve seen in a long while. Though I thought this break would decrease my faith in humanity and all of that, the adventures of a villainous cat named Scooter Fuzzy as developed by a group of inner-city third graders has given me a renewed faith.

Post-lunch we went to LaSalle II Elementary School to work with a group of eighth graders on a project in conjunction with our site. They were assigned to write a short story about anything that they chose. And boy did they have some insanely creative pieces. We each got the chance to work one-on-one with a few students to revise their pieces. I met with Jose, Diamond and Malik. Jose wrote about a bullying and a school shooting, while Diamond decided upon a 16-page melodrama about a 14-year old girl with two boyfriends who decides to go on a shopping spree with her father’s credit card.

I connected best with a confident young man named Malik. Malik wrote an incredibly imagery heavy short about a high-school age boy named Christopher. During a meeting with one of his teachers after school, Chris is asked how he feels about death. He brushes it off, only to realize that his teacher has passed the Grim Reaper scythe to him. He wakes up the next day to realize that he has transformed into his worst nightmare. Intensity ensues.

Once again, Tilyn and I got to work at the writing center during after-school tutoring time. Making short, but lasting connections with a few kids that had visited our table day after day has been my favorite part of this entire break experience. We even ran into Yesi, a girl from our site, at LaSalle II this morning! She was so excited to show us where she came to learn each day.

Back at the hostel, we dined with the students from a fifth grade private school class who cooked our dinner based on a country they were studying at school. The hostel has a program in which students from local schools study a country (this time, it was Brazil) and then come to the hostel to share it with people from all over! I found it fascinating to explore the different types of education options that a city of this size has to offer.

We ended the day with an intense talk about the relation between race and socio-economic level, played Spoons and then played with some more spoons. Maddy is really good at making some sweet noises, for any lovers of the unique instrument out there.

Natalie- 826 Chicago- Day Three

Today began early for four of us; Megan, Tilyn, Ashley and Maddy went to Cameron Elementary School to work on a project with some seventh graders at 8:45 a.m., while Bailey and I got to sleep in a while longer. We had a lovely breakfast of toast and marmalade at the hostel before heading to our site. Our leisurely day rapidly became slightly more stressful though, when we accidently took the L-train the opposite direction of our site. Whoops!

We made it to 826 Chicago just in time to witness an amazing program that 826 puts on almost every day during the week – a class field trip! Second and third grade classes file into the main room at the site at the premise of helping one of the employees write a story! The students create the illustrations with a fantastic artist and then get their stories approved by the “boss of the publishing company”, the intimidating Admiral Moody. Complete with improv acting and creative story-telling techniques, the students create different endings for a story that they created together.

Bailey and I got to work with the students on their individual stories, which was, well, a really cute experience. The class was from a Spanish speaking school so they were allowed to write their stories in either English or Spanish. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jesus, who finished his story about Chuck the Hamburger Man and his sidekick, Robo Jack, by having them vanquish the horrible villain Mike Ninja amidst a dangerous jewel heist. Sweet success.

The rest of our group joined us for lunch (boat-sized portions of rice and vegetables) and then we changed into our oh-so-attractive paint clothes to decorate the Boring Store, the front “façade” of the organization. Each 826 chapter is complete with an accompanying store. 826’s is called The Boring Store and sells spy supplies! We got to spackle and sand down the walls of the store and paint it a cool retro gray hue. Again, sweet.

As we have every day this week, we helped out with tutoring again. Tilyn and I took our coveted place at the writing table where we got to work with students like Yesi and Ingrid! Yesi, who was all-too excited about my “You’re on the top of a giant boulder in a magical dark forest. How do you get out?” prompt from yesterday, was desperate for more fun times. Today I told her to describe a day in her life, as if she was her cat and a day in her cat’s life, if her cat was in her body. Suffice to say, she had a very creative response.

Pancakes, sausage and eggs for dinner were the perfect almost-ending to our day. Post-deliciousness, we visited the room of our KState Alternative Break friends to set up a breakfast meeting. Bailey, our ever-cheerful leader invitingly knocked on their door, strode in and proclaimed, “Hi KState! It’s KU! We’d like to formally invite you to break fast with us tomorrow morning!”

Diplomacy at its finest.

Natalie- 826 Chicago- Day Two

Bright and early this morning, we headed to the Chicago Public Library to mount about 18 escalators up to the ninth floor. Our touristy thing for the day: we visited the Bean! We also got free Starbucks on the street! Awesome!

Around 1 p.m., we attempted some papercrafts for 826’s spring fundraiser: Promic-con. ((Previous prom-themed Prom Hanks and Keep Prom and Carry On). Maddie was an expert at said papercrafts.

We also worked as tutors in the afterschool tutoring program again. Tilyn and I got to work at the writing station, where students could go when they wanted to take a break from their homework. Each student got the same prompt and then wrote away! Today’s prompt involved a 30-hour dance party. It was fantastic.

From first graders to sixth, there were more unique, weird and awesome stories than I’ve heard, quite possibly ever. I specifically adored witnessing a fifth grader named Harry write his piece about Gangnam Style. His voice showed so clearly in his writing, despite his extremely quiet demeanor. At the end of his story he wrote, “They served beer at the dance, but as that would be inappropriate for the writer of the story, I stuck with water.” Genius.

Obviously, I also enjoyed connecting with the kids about One Direction. So many of the girls loved hearing that I was obsessed with the five boys, and after shaking his head that he didn’t like them, a little boy named Jose shrugged and then responded, “Well…I actually really like Niall’s hair.” Not an experience that I would give up for the world.

We left 826 after the new-volunteer orientation and had a tense time at the Jewel Osco as we attempted to purchase food for our dinner. Carb-starved, we grabbed some frozen chicken nuggets and splurged on deluxe macaroni for $2.55.

Then, as we do, we got locked out of our room at the hostel. We cooked a delicious and non-extraordinarily healthy dinner with a group from Oklahoma. While our noodles boiled, we danced to Beyonce with some of the people from Oklahoma missions group in the hostel kitchen. I had this surreal experience when Love on Top came on, which was the song of my previous break group. That group defined so much of my college experience. Like two paths that I thought were different, coming together.

The ladies of 826 then bonded over burlesque dance moves, bra sizes and penguin gummies. A great day!

Natalie- 826 Chicago- Day One

This morning, our all-female group woke up at the leisurely hour of 7:15 a.m. in our lovely room at Hostelling International in Chi-town. After a complimentary breakfast at the hostel and a run-in with a KState Alternative Breaks group, we headed to a small locally owned grocery store about 10 minutes away called the South Loop Market. After an adventurous and food-filled morning we finally headed to the Boring Store! (It’s definitely not a spy store or anything.) We got to meet the full-time employees at 826 Chicago, including an adorable long-haired dachsund named Chester. He’s not an employee. I don’t think. Then they did the worst. They handed the six of us a stack of books written by the kids of 826 Chicago over the past few years and told us to go to a totally hipster coffee shop around the corner and read up for the next few hours. And that we did. We reveled in the stories and poems of kids ages 6 to 18. I read a funny compilation about a funny guy named Jared who liked to play with eraser cubes and wear a muumuu, as well as an introspective story about a trash can called “Keeper of Past Importance.” A lovely fifth grader named Jocelyn Ortega wrote, “The leaves fall down from the trees because they want to kiss the sidewalk and want to go trick-or-treating.”

After our glorious reading time, Bailey and I went to Clemente High School with Zach from 826 to work with a writing class. It was an interesting experience. Erik Adams, the assistant TV editor for the AV Club, a subsidiary of the Onion, spoke to the class about interviewing tactics. Picture this: Second semester seniors in an elective class. On a Monday. During the last period of class for the day. The students were not quite captivated, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

Around 3:30 p.m., Bailey and I headed back to our site to participate in 826’s after school tutoring program! I got to help this super awesome 6th grader named Cristian with his math homework. Fractions are hard, man. Real hard. I hope to work with Cristian again, though, because I think we really connected in regards to trapezoids and video games.

Finally, our group made a delicious late dinner of fajitas and reflected about each other’s personal goals for the trip. It was fantastic to hear everyone else’s personal goals too – from lofty to simplistic.

Cody- Riding on Angels Wings- Day Five

Day 5 was cut short because there was inclement weather that was predicted for our path back home. We still went up to the farm to help out with one hour of class. A normal day has three different hour long classes with three or four riders at a time. For this last day we went up to just help with the first of these, and to say goodbye to everyone at ROAW. We worked in the office a little before the kids came, and we set up and watered the arena once again just like on day 4. There is a new set of riders for each day that we were there. The kids come one day a week, so we saw a different group each time. Spending times with these kids were by far the best part about this trip. This allowed us to see firsthand the help that we were giving. These kids were so happy to be coming out and spending time with these horses. I'm sure it seems like to the kids that this was for just entertainment, but horse therapy is so much more than that. These kids are receiving many physical benefits, but there are also self-esteem, mental, and other personal gains being made as a result of horse therapy. The whole reason we went on this trip was for the kids, so to be able to help them out and to see the joy that horse therapy brought them was really amazing. Side walking was very painful in the shoulders, and mucking was very hard work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat to be able to see those kids again, and to help them improve thanks to the horse therapy system and more specifically the organization of ROAW. As a pre-med student this trip opened my eyes to different means of treatment for developmental disorders. I had so much fun on this trip, and I hope the kids that I had the privilege that I met got half out of it as I did.

Cody- Riding on Angels Wings- Day Four

Day 4 was far and away my favorite day at Riding on Angels Wings in Minnesota. The reason for this was that the first horse therapy class of the year was held. It is too bad that Minnesota is so cold that these classes cannot be held year round. We went about four hours before the class so that we could set up and help before the kids actually arrived. Our group was responsible for setting up the arena. We placed buckets and cones in different places around the arena. There are several horse therapy instructors that work at ROAW, and these are the individuals who actually run the classes and give directions to the riders. Our group was also responsible for watering down the dirt in the arena, and this was done in order to avoid a surplus of dust in the arena. The kids finally came and we were able to actually meet the kids that we were helping, and to visually see how these horse therapy classes actually worked. There were three kids and each session, and therefore three horse in the arena at one time. The kids mount he horses using a stair case, and this isn't always easy depending on how the horse is acting, and how bug the kid is. Our job, as volunteers, was to be side walkers. Most of the kids were dependent, and therefore, needed help staying up on the horse, so our job was to walk beside them with either a hand on the knee or a hand on the ankle to help them with support. The class was really cool to witness, because the instructor organizes the class in a way that they kids are challenged to remember the commands for horses, such as "walk on" to order the horse to walk forward, and "whoa" as a way to tell the  horse to halt. The barrels and cones were used to weave in and out of. The kids were encouraged to do different activities such as put their hand on their head and put them out to the sides. All of these with the idea of encourage movement which helps with strength and flexibility for the kids.

Cody- Riding on Angels Wings- Day Three

Day 3 at Riding on Angels Wings was probably the least busy of the 5. There was more indoor cleaning that needed to be done that was left over from day 2. One of the things that we had to do was reorganize their donor plaques. It was really cool to be able to see how many people support this organization. It is important to keep in mind that organization like ROAW no matter how great the mission cannot stick around without the help of businesses and people. It is really awesome that people can see the good being done at a place like ROAW and are willing to contribute what they can. This trip definitely increased my awareness of the support that there is for the nonprofit sector, and this made me very happy. Today was the day that I was able to ride a horse for the first time! This was a really fun experience. I was a little worried at first, just because I had never done it and did not know what to expect. For this reason, I asked the horse handler if she would walk with me from the start. This allowed me to get the hang of it, and after awhile I told her that I felt comfortable enough on my own.  I was able to bring the horse to a trot and that was really fun. This helped me better understand the physical benefits that can come from an activity like horse riding for kids with developmental disorders. At first I was not sure if something like horse therapy would really work, but after riding myself for the first time I was able to see the clear benefits that horse riding could provide in terms of physical strength and balance. Our group also had to do some horse grooming, because it was only one day until classes finally start, and we get to see the kids!

Cody- Riding on Angels Wings- Day Two

Day 2 of our time in Minnesota was the complete opposite of our first day. The first day there was more of the manual labor part of the job which involved mucking and horse grooming. The second day we spent indoors. This organization was started by a lady named Bete whose son DJ was born with cerebral palsy. Bete started Riding On Angels Wings because of DJ and it began with only a couple riders in her driveway. Over the years it has grown and so has its riders and facilities. The facilities are all on Bete's farm. The horses are kept there, so the barn is there too. There is also a riding arena where the actual horse therapy classes are held, and there is an office area for people to stay warm, and where much of the logistics are handled for the group. Our job for day 2 was to clean this office. As you would assume, an office with a horse arena on the other side of the wall can get pretty filthy. There are all kinds of people going in and out of the office and dragging with them mud, dirt, and snow. There was also a serious accumulation of dust on the surfaces of the office. Taking care of all of this was our task for day 2. Personally I was in charge of cleaning all of the windows, which were covered in dust. Also Eric and I were charged with the duty of organizing a corner of the office that had accumulated a random sample of things from around the place. There was much sweeping to do, and each of the drawers were examined and cleaned. Basically we just did a serious deep clean of the place. These tasks didn't seem to be that much of a big deal, but we could clearly see from the thanks we got that it was a big deal to the workers there. The tasks that was fairly simple for the group of us would have taken the few workers there several days. Between the first two days we saw two very different sides of this organization. There is the office side of handling the rider information and the organization, and there is the barn work where the horses are cared for. Both of these are necessary to the success and ultimately to the benefit of all the kids in need of the help that horse therapy can provide. Once again there were no kids on this day, because classes were not scheduled.

Cody- Riding on Angels Wings- Day One

The organization that my group went to was just outside a tiny town called Felton, MN. The organization is called Riding on Angels Wings, and they use horse therapy as a means to help developmentally disabled kids. The kids that they help have a wide variety of issues from cerebral palsy to ADHD. Horse riding helps the kids with their physical strength and flexibility, and also about listening to directions and being responsible. The first day that we were able to volunteer there was no scheduled class. The classes were cancelled for the winter, because in Minnesota it is much too cold in the winter to have kids go outdoors and ride horses. So our group was responsible for mucking the horses stalls, which is a basically shoveling out the dirty hay and waste that has been left by the horses. This was a long and difficult process, but it is a necessary one. These horses do great things to help out kids in need, so I think that it was good for our group to see all aspects of the organization, and horse care is one of them. After we cleaned out all of the stalls and replaced the old hay with new hay, we were able to groom the horses. This was a really fun process, because it allowed us to get to know each of the horse. It was really fun for me personally, because I have not really spent that much time around horses. We were responsible for combing the manes and tails for each of the horses, combing off the shed hair, and cleaning the bottom of their feet. These horses are so well trained so it was cool to see how calm they were. Each of us on the trip spent quality time with all of the horses and were able to decide our favorites. Mine favorite horse was the beautiful black mare named Blue. It was very frigid when we first got out to the farm, but the more we worked the more it warmed up. The whole process of the barn work was not the most fun, but it is a very important part of the Riding on Angels Wings organization. Our first day was pretty much over after we were done with barn work.

Tilyn- 826 Chicago- Day Five

We were supposed to have another field trip Friday morning, but the teacher was sick so the students didn’t get to come. I was really disappointed because working with the kids was my favorite part of every other day, but they still put us to work so it was good to feel useful.

We got to canvas the neighborhood to hang up posters and pass out flyers. I really enjoyed this because we got to see way more of Chicago than we had all week, and we had the chance to visit a bunch of little coffee shops and bakeries which was a lot of fun. Since it was game day, we all wore our KU outfits, complete with face tattoos. We had so many people either just shout out “Rock Chalk!” as we walked by, or stop us and ask about KU and what we were doing in Chicago. It was really neat to share our story and let people know that KU has a really awesome program and students who are excited to help others across the US.

When we got back to the center, my last project was to hang three boxes on the wall above a door. Being the only farm kid among several Johnson County girls, I was really proud that I knew what I was doing and ended up hanging them all spaced perfectly and perfectly level. Sometimes I feel very “country” compared to many of my peers at KU, but it was really fun to do something I knew how to do because of my background and to do it perfectly.

When we finished our projects, we said our goodbyes to the staff and headed to The Crossing. It was really fun to be able to cheer on our team with fellow Jayhawk fans and alumni even though we were several hundred miles away from Lawrence.

Tilyn- 826 Chicago- Day Four

On Thursday morning, we got to help with a field trip at 826. Field trips are typically for second or third graders, and there is a very long waiting list for schools to partake in one; and for good reason- the field trip was a blast.

The class comes in expecting to hear a story, but it’s the storyteller’s first day and they forgot to bring one. His boss, Admiral Moody, is mean and cranky and threatens to fire the story teller if he doesn’t have a story on his desk by noon. The kids were all very worried and eager to help the storyteller so he wouldn’t lose his job. Together, they make up a story and when they’re almost done, Admiral Moody comes back on the intercom and tells the storyteller he only has 20 more minutes to have 27 stories on his desk (which is miraculously the number of students on the field trip.) Each student writes his own ending, and then we bind them in a personalized book for each child to take home.

I really loved being a part of the field trip because you could see how excited the kids were about being a part of it. Obviously the storyteller’s job wasn’t really in jeopardy, but their reactions and innocent imaginations and exuberance were so refreshing to be around.

That afternoon, we went to La Salle II Elementary School to proofread a group of 8th graders’ creative writing stories. We sat down one-on-one with a few different students so they could read us their draft and we could help them revise. My first student’s name was Julio and his story was very poorly written; it was obvious he had little knowledge of the English language. The level of his spelling, grammar, and punctuation were that of a first grader. When my time was up with him, I expected my next student to be at the same level, but Sandra turned out to be one of the best writers I’ve ever met.

Listening to Sandra’s story was more interesting and better written than many books I’ve read; she is far beyond her age in her writing skills. Sandra’s story was so wonderfully crafted that I was somewhat jealous of her talent as an English Creative Writing major.

The disparities among the students were astounding. I talked to several of the other girls, and they were read stories of a very wide range of skill level as well. Obviously some students have natural ability, and others (like Julio) are perhaps struggling with a language barrier, but I have never been in a school where the students’ skill levels were so varied and I was shocked. It made me wonder if peer tutoring would be a good idea for the class we worked with because students that excel (like Sandra) were clearly bored with the classroom material, and to be honest, could probably help their struggling classmates more than outside tutors could in some cases.

Tilyn- 826 Chicago- Day Three

Maddy, Ashley, Megan, and I all woke up early to meet Zach at Cameron Elementary school. Zach and a professional photographer were introducing a new memoir project to three classes of seventh graders. The project is entitled “The Me That No One Knows” so we gave the kids two questions to think about: How do you see yourself? And How do others see you? Our job was to walk around and talk to groups of kids in order to help them brainstorm ideas of what to write down for each question.

It was very interesting to see how the students self-identified, and how they thought others perceived them. Every kid we worked with was either Hispanic or African-American. The way they identified themselves racially was particularly interesting to observe. There was one child whom I asked about their background and he said, “My parents are from Mexico but I am from here,” putting a lot of emphasis on the latter part of the statement.

When I was working at another table, one Puerto Rican girl asked a boy at her table if he was also Puerto Rican and he responded, “NO. I am a fifth generation American born citizen.”  The boy was of Puerto Rican descent, but clearly thought it was more important to clarify his family’s immigration status.

There was something else I noticed when working with the kids at Cameron that really stuck out to me: several of the more ornery boys described themselves as “devils” or “demons” because of their talkative, rule-breaking behavior. I don’t know if it is a normal use of the word in their culture, but I do know that as an Anglo-Saxon, white, middle-class American, I would have never called myself a “demon” when I was in seventh grade or at any point in my life for that matter.

When we got back to 826, we helped out with some odd jobs, namely prepping and painting a wall. When 3:30 came, Natalie and I worked at the same Writing Table again. We gave the students the same prompt as we had the day before, as different students often come to the center on different days. It was really interesting to see how several students could approach the same topic from completely different angles and each come up with something totally unique.

Tilyn- 826 Chicago- Day Two

Tuesday morning was our morning off, so we got to go on our sightseeing adventures. The best part of our morning probably came with our lunchtime meal at a little vintage coffee shop and café. We had a really great time talking and getting to know each other better, and it served as an awesome bonding session for our group.

We arrived at 826 and started helping with Promic-con preparation activities. Every year, 826 throws a “prom” for the employees and volunteers to raise money for 826 and celebrate their work. Megan and I had the task of going through dozens of 826CHI’s published “chat-books” to find funny comic-con related quotes from kids to paste on giant quote bubbles at the prom. This gave me another opportunity to read the kids’ work, but this time I got to read very light-hearted, hilarious stories by younger kids.

During after school tutoring, 826 has three “Writing Tables” where every kid has to go at some time during their tutoring session to respond to a prompt and write a creative short story. I got to staff one of the Writing Tables on Tuesday with Natalie, which I really enjoyed. Unlike working through math problems painstakingly slowly, I got to act silly and throw out crazy ideas to inspire the kids’ writing. Watching each one of the kids and their individual creative processes was very interesting, because they each came up with something very unique, and it was easy to see how much fun the kids were having with it. 826 is doing an amazing job encouraging kids to work on their writing skills in a very fun way that they can enjoy, and it was really cool to know I was contributing to that cause.

After the kids left, we helped Kendra set up for a volunteer training session (which we also attended to learn more about how we can help during our time at 826.) One thing that really stuck out to me was that there were several volunteers that had indicated their interested up to a year ago, and had been waiting until now to get involved. I think it speaks really highly of 826 as an organization and the potential of goodness in people in general that they were willing to wait so long to help at 826.

Tilyn- 826 Chicago- Day One

On our first day in Chicago, we all woke up early to go grocery shopping before we headed to “The Boring Store”. When we were putting away groceries and eating a quick breakfast at the hostel, we ran into a group of students wearing all K-State gear and introduced ourselves. They are part of K-State alternative breaks and are working with Teach for America. I think this struck me as really crazy because I’m from a really small farming community and I was very hesitant and nervous about coming to Lawrence, which to me is a huge city. It didn’t take long for me to realize though, that you often can’t go anywhere on campus without running into someone you know. It never ceases to amaze me how small the world really is; it seems that no matter where you are, you can always find someone you know, or someone who shares a common acquaintance with you.

I honestly had no idea what to expect out of 826 or what we’d be doing. When we first arrived at the store, Kendra (the volunteer coordinator) told us that the best way to get to know the kids was to read their work. They sent us to a nearby coffee shop to read some of their books for a few hours. I felt really guilty at first because I came to work and help, and instead I was sitting in a cozy coffee shop drinking hot chocolate and reading book. It didn’t take long however before I learned how valuable that background information would be in interacting with the kids. I felt like Mrs. Gruell from “Freedom Writers” reading stories by eighth graders of their friend being killed in a drive by shooting at Church’s Chicken and learning to take care of their heroin addicted brother before they hit junior high. Learning the stories of some of the students, whether sad and serious or light and funny, really taught me a lot about the background of the kids we interacted with.

When the kids got out of school, we helped with 826’s after school tutoring program. I worked one-on-one with a sixth grade girl named Damola. Her homework was to find the area and perimeter of six triangles. Trying to get her to do even the smallest step was like pulling teeth; it took us over an hour to complete those six problems. Working with Damola definitely tested my patience, but I learned a lot about working with kids who have a certain mind set; Damola was very smart and knew exactly what she was doing, but was completely convinced that she couldn’t do it. I’ve never met a child with so little self-belief, and Damola was a student who provided new challenge for me in trying to help a student academically, but more importantly with their confidence.

Shannon- Tupac- Day Five

On our last day of volunteering at the Tupac center, we ran errands and filed papers in preparation for an event to be held by the foundation on the following day. We also worked outside on removing an invasive species from the property. This was the last day, and the entire group was exhausted both mentally and physically from a week of hard work. However, we managed to keep up morale by acknowledging that our work was toward a good cause that we all believed firmly in. After a long day of work, we retired to the home of two of the members of the congregation. They had generously offered to host us for the night in another demonstration of the wonderful “Southern Hospitality” we had been receiving all week. After dinner the group reflected on the week of volunteering at the Tupac center. We recognized the difficulties of running a non-profit organization and felt that, while we perhaps felt that we had not done a whole lot to change the lives of others, we had helped the Tupac center at least in a small way. However, we all felt that the biggest learning experience of the trip came from living at the church. Through our experience with the members of the congregation, we learned a lot about equality and were exposed to issues that had never personally affected any of us before.  We also acknowledged that as a group, we were quite diverse. When we took a quiz that assigned an animal based on personality, we were all different animals. We found it amazing that we were able to work so well as a group when we were all so different aside from our love of music. This demonstrated to me that community service can bring people of very different backgrounds together and can create valuable experiences as well as lasting friendships.

Shannon- Tupac- Day Four

The next two days we spent doing grounds keeping work. We cleaned, gardened, and laid cement. The group was not overly keen on performing these activities, but I believe that this work taught us a lot about ourselves and each other.  We learned that volunteer work is not guaranteed to be fun and that keeping a good attitude can make the experience much more rewarding. We were pushed out of our comfort zones when we were asked to make and lay cement, a task that none of us had ever completed before. We had to learn on the job and we all found that it is much more difficult than it looks. In this moment, we all gained respect for the skilled workers that complete activities like this every day. I learned that I take these things for granted every day and when they took someone a great deal of time to perfect. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to lay cement as it requires great skill and precision.  While we were gardening, we met the main landscaper for the peace garden at Tupac. He gave us the honor of sharing in his life story. He said that he had gotten a higher education, but decided later on that his true passion was horticulture, so he got trained and is now a landscaper. Although it does not pay nearly as well as his last job, he is much happier working with the earth. He provided another example of someone who had followed a somewhat crooked path and eventually found his way by following his passion.  It emphasized to the group that it is still possible for a person to change his mind after following a certain path. Nothing in this life is set in stone, and a person has the ability to make himself happy by doing what he loves most.

Shannon- Tupac- Day Three

Our second day at the Tupac center was focused on learning about the arts scene in Atlanta. We started off the day meeting the executive director at the Tupac center. He thanked us for our help and asked each of us about our connections with the arts. Next we spoke to four people involved in the arts in Atlanta; a choreographer, a playwright, a director of a non-profit organization supporting individual artists in Atlanta, and a governmental employee in charge of allotting grants to artists in Atlanta. All of these people had gotten degrees elsewhere and followed somewhat crooked paths that landed them back in the arts. What I took from the roundtable is that a person should follow his or her passion no matter what it is, there are many ways to be involved in the arts, and the arts can be incorporated into any lifestyle. It was comforting to me to know that my passion for the arts could still remain an essential part of my life even if I do not plan to pursue the arts as a career. When a person grows up with the arts, the arts will follow him for the rest of his life. After the roundtable, we watched part of a video on Tupac’s life that was meant to help us understand why Tupac ended up the way that he did. In order to understand Tupac on an even deeper level, we went to a library to view some of Tupac’s personal writings. The one that stood out to me the most was Tupac’s design for a restaurant. It struck me as surprising to find out that Tupac has lofty hopes and dreams just as everyone else does. He was a true dreamer. Seeing these personal documents in his handwriting reminded us that Tupac was a person just like us.

Shannon- Tupac- Day Two

Today started volunteering at the Tupac center. We met the volunteer coordinator who told us a little about the programs as a whole. The Tupac center puts on summer programs for kids interested in the arts as well as holding after school programs on Fridays and Saturday classes. They keep Tupac’s legacy alive by exposing children to the arts and never turning away a student who cannot pay. We took a tour of the facility that includes a studio, a warehouse that they hope to turn into a stage, and a peace garden. Throughout the property, there are numerous Tupac artifacts donated by his family. We also met some of the people who teach classes there that started out as students in the program. They did some exercises with us that demonstrated what goes on during the camps as well as talking a little about where they started and how the program helped them each as individuals. After learning about the program, we got to work and divided into groups. One group stayed inside and painted the walls in the hallway while the other group swept the warehouse. While we were working, the volunteer coordinator and the teachers stayed around and chatted with us. They were very thankful of our help and told us so numerous times. After learning about the program, I felt that my work was worthwhile if I was able to help such a noble cause. Tupac’s life had been changed by his exposure to the arts just as the people who worked at the center. Everyone in my group had a connection to the arts as well, so we all felt the relevance of the issue. The Tupac center does not have much funding, so we all felt that anything we could do to help was worth our time.

Shannon- Tupac- Day One

Although we weren’t yet volunteering today, I learned some valuable lessons about diversity and acceptance. Today we went to the Sunday service at the church where we are staying. It is a church that is accepting of people with all different backgrounds and beliefs that is focused on unity and equality for all. The congregation was more welcoming than I could have ever imagined.  Everyone wanted to hear about who we were and what we were going to do for the rest of the week. Different families signed up to provide us dinner for the entire week and the church provided food for the rest of our meals from their food bank.  I have never felt more comfortable with people I was meeting for the first time. These people knew very little about us, yet they offered anything that they could to make us feel more at home. I guess this is what people mean when they comment about “Southern Hospitality.” We went to brunch with the congregation after the service at the restaurant across the street and learned a little more about Reverend Paul, the man who so generously allowed us to stay at the church. He spoke to us about how the mission of his church was to be accepting to all types of people and that his church took in many people who had been turned away by others who were afraid of something different. He told us that many of the people in his congregation were a part of the LGBTQ community in Atlanta which is much larger than any of us knew. He was very open with us about his own life struggles and his hopes concerning a future of equality for all. This was an amazing start to a week focused on diversity and acceptance.