I began volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters as an in school mentor last January. I initially began the program for purely selfish reasons. I knew that volunteering was a necessity on an education resume and I wanted to boost the chances of finding a job when I graduate this April.
Instead, spending one hour a week with my mentee has become an integral factor in my life. The relationship that can be built between mentor and mentee in just one hour a week is phenonmenal! I wouldn't have believed it if I'm not experiencing myself! After two months off during the summer, I was concerned she may have forgotten who I was or that our relationship might regress because of the lack of contact. Nope! She came tearing out of class on our first day back together and hugged me so hard she almost knocked me over! She had also rememebered I was going to Australia during my summer and asked me how it was. Pretty impressive for a nine year old!
My student was in grade three when I started with her last year and had arrived from Pakistan in December 2006. She could already speak english from school in her native country, but her teacher felt she could benefit from the mentoring program. Apparently she has already improved in her language skills and her self confidence in relating to others has also risen. We play games, read, play outside or in the gym, and draw/paint pictures. Today we are going to add baking cookies to our resume of achievements.
I would recommend this program to anyone who along with needing volunteer experience, wants to make a difference in a young person's life. The positive influence we can have on our youth through small actions is astounding and totally worth our effort!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Gift of Momentary Clarity
Aha! I think I've finally got it! The answers to all life's burning questions. Why am I here? What should I really do with my life?
The school year started off with a dull thud for me this year. I had just returned from an exciting trip to Australia and Fiji; the thought of another year of school seemed an impossible feat for me to accomplish. Couple these factors with some questions about the direction of my career path, and it made for a very stressed out student.
Today was a great day. I went to school and actually enjoyed my classes. I began my in-school mentoring program for the second semester, and it finally hit me... this is what I am meant to do with my life! The one hour spent with my "little sister" re-energized me like nothing else could. I felt more alive and happy than I have in weeks. I just love being in schools, and had forgotten this fact about myself over the summer months. The vibrancy of youth and the quest for learning really seem to excite my senses. I left the school this afternoon with a renewed vigor to finish off my last semester of regular university classes and head into my last practicum full speed ahead. I seem to have re-gained my usually unshakeable focus for the future from a single hour spent drawing, chatting, and reading with a little girl in grade four.
That is something special.
The school year started off with a dull thud for me this year. I had just returned from an exciting trip to Australia and Fiji; the thought of another year of school seemed an impossible feat for me to accomplish. Couple these factors with some questions about the direction of my career path, and it made for a very stressed out student.
Today was a great day. I went to school and actually enjoyed my classes. I began my in-school mentoring program for the second semester, and it finally hit me... this is what I am meant to do with my life! The one hour spent with my "little sister" re-energized me like nothing else could. I felt more alive and happy than I have in weeks. I just love being in schools, and had forgotten this fact about myself over the summer months. The vibrancy of youth and the quest for learning really seem to excite my senses. I left the school this afternoon with a renewed vigor to finish off my last semester of regular university classes and head into my last practicum full speed ahead. I seem to have re-gained my usually unshakeable focus for the future from a single hour spent drawing, chatting, and reading with a little girl in grade four.
That is something special.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
What Am I Doing Here?
I wasn't sure how I would feel about chronicling thoughts into this blog, but right now I am going to put a required task to good work. I feel so bitter right now in regards to school it is not even funny. Pretty pathetic, since this is the first full week of classes. Perhaps I would not feel so overwhelmed and dejected if I would just learn to leave well enough alone. I have eight months left of school until I receive my Education degree and can rejoin the land of the living, and what do I find myself doing? Applying to law school! Somebody smack some sense into me before it is too late...
A full course load in an overachiever's life is stressful enough. The action of adding on application processes and LSAT preparation might just drive me over the edge. I know this all sounds very melodramatic but tonight I feel so frustrated after LSAT preparation that I want to quit and take the easier road of finishing my degree and being done with it all. Something inside me will not let this happen and I wonder what that is? What drives some people so hard, while others take life as it comes and are happy with what they have accomplished already? I am usually proud of my work ethic, drive and attention to detail, but sometimes, like tonight, it is driving me crazy! Needless to say my two hours of very slow and tedious LSAT prep has now come to an end as my brain is a complete puddle of mush. Tomorrow is another day...yeaaah...
A full course load in an overachiever's life is stressful enough. The action of adding on application processes and LSAT preparation might just drive me over the edge. I know this all sounds very melodramatic but tonight I feel so frustrated after LSAT preparation that I want to quit and take the easier road of finishing my degree and being done with it all. Something inside me will not let this happen and I wonder what that is? What drives some people so hard, while others take life as it comes and are happy with what they have accomplished already? I am usually proud of my work ethic, drive and attention to detail, but sometimes, like tonight, it is driving me crazy! Needless to say my two hours of very slow and tedious LSAT prep has now come to an end as my brain is a complete puddle of mush. Tomorrow is another day...yeaaah...
Sunday, September 9, 2007
How A Summer Off from School Changed My Life
I knew from the date of last December that the summer of 2007 would be different from the stagnant drudgery of summer employment that fills most students summers. I just never dreamed how much it would change my life.
I finished spring session on June 15th 2007 and had four weeks of relaxation until my exciting trip to Australia began. On a whim, I had attended a meeting for the International Student Volunteers program at the U of A during the previous November. I had no real intention of participating in the program, but went to check it out since the presenting New Zealanders had given such a good presentation. In a few short weeks I found myself applying to the program, being accepted and spending a large amount of my hard earned cash to reserve myself a spot. The rest is history!
I left for Australia on July 26, 2007 to participate in a volunteer conservation/adventure tour. I met up with the rest of the adventurers in Los Angeles and quickly became friends with people from around North America that I would be spending day and night with for the next four weeks. A full 24 hours of travel from Edmonton, AB left me two hours away from Brisbane, Australia totally secluded in the mountains to begin my two weeks of volunteer work.
Australia is probably the largest conservationist country in the world, as their diverse lands contain 75% of the world's species. Everyone probably has seen or heard of Steve Irwin, 'The Crocodile Hunter' who has set the world image for the stereotypical Australian. I was surprised at how much his message has seemed to get through to Australians. The organization I was volunteering under is called Wild Mountains and their mission is to educate school children about conservation so they can learn about and pass on important environmental changing actions. As an interesting aside to the issue of Australian conservation, I found it surprising that all Australian toilets, public or private, have a full or half flush option to enable everyone to help conserve water. As the ultimate non-renewable resource, water is scarce in Australia because much of the country is in severe drought for most of the year. I found this to be a huge difference between Australia and Canada, as many Canadians waste water horribly, not even posing a thought to its scarcity in other parts of the world. My eyes were completely opened as I considered how terrible it would be to one day not have enough water to complete everyday tasks. The issue of water scarcity was driven home to me as we had to sleep in a shed with a limited water supply to have showers and wash dishes. The water we were expected to live on and not leave as a depleted supply came from the rain water reserves in a cistern. Once the supply was used up there would be none left for us to use in our daily tasks. It made me wonder what if that fear was on a global scale?
The two weeks of volunteering at Wild Mountains was intense and brought everyone back down to a grassroots level. We slept in sleeping bags on mattresses on the floor in a small loft. There was a wood stove to heat the shed and hot water for dishes or washing up. There was no television or radio as electricity was limited. We were responsible for preparing three meals a day in teams of three or four and cleaning up after everyone. Imagine the scenario: no dishwasher with dishes and pots for meals of around 15 people at every mealtime. The food was vegetarian and wholesome, as no junk food was to be found within miles. We ate together as a group, as no one was allowed to start until everyone had arrived from work. The work consisted of wood splitting, tree planting, weeding, painting, cleaning, and general construction labour. Whatever we could do to assist with getting the educational facility running by the end of August was our duty.
The entire two weeks consisted of basic living, work, and traditional values that have fallen by the wayside in our modern, urban lifestyle. A person might assume this type of experience might not be for the average 19-25 year olds from large, urban areas. Wrong! Every single student out of the nine on the volunteer work project said they loved the traditional values of sitting down for meals together, and playing cards or games in the evenings. The hectic sounds of the city were replaced by the cackling of the Kookaburras in the early morning and the deadlines of school and jobs were traded in for a shovel and a young tree needing to be planted in the hillside. Not one person was ready to go back to the hustle of their daily lives, as the step back in time to the wilderness of the mountains had positive effect on everyone.
As I resume the regular grindstone of my daily rountine, I will take with me many aspects of Wild Mountains. I will turn the faucets off when I am brushing my teeth or washing my face. I will turn all electricity off when it is not in immediate use. I will recycle more products and eliminate as much waste as possible because almost anything can be re-used. I will be aware that we share this planet with flora and fauna that have as much right to be here as we do. Most importantly, I will take the time to stop and appreciate the beauty of nature as the simplest of wonders go by un-noticed as people hustle through their lives. Thank you to the staff of Wild Mountains.
I finished spring session on June 15th 2007 and had four weeks of relaxation until my exciting trip to Australia began. On a whim, I had attended a meeting for the International Student Volunteers program at the U of A during the previous November. I had no real intention of participating in the program, but went to check it out since the presenting New Zealanders had given such a good presentation. In a few short weeks I found myself applying to the program, being accepted and spending a large amount of my hard earned cash to reserve myself a spot. The rest is history!
I left for Australia on July 26, 2007 to participate in a volunteer conservation/adventure tour. I met up with the rest of the adventurers in Los Angeles and quickly became friends with people from around North America that I would be spending day and night with for the next four weeks. A full 24 hours of travel from Edmonton, AB left me two hours away from Brisbane, Australia totally secluded in the mountains to begin my two weeks of volunteer work.
Australia is probably the largest conservationist country in the world, as their diverse lands contain 75% of the world's species. Everyone probably has seen or heard of Steve Irwin, 'The Crocodile Hunter' who has set the world image for the stereotypical Australian. I was surprised at how much his message has seemed to get through to Australians. The organization I was volunteering under is called Wild Mountains and their mission is to educate school children about conservation so they can learn about and pass on important environmental changing actions. As an interesting aside to the issue of Australian conservation, I found it surprising that all Australian toilets, public or private, have a full or half flush option to enable everyone to help conserve water. As the ultimate non-renewable resource, water is scarce in Australia because much of the country is in severe drought for most of the year. I found this to be a huge difference between Australia and Canada, as many Canadians waste water horribly, not even posing a thought to its scarcity in other parts of the world. My eyes were completely opened as I considered how terrible it would be to one day not have enough water to complete everyday tasks. The issue of water scarcity was driven home to me as we had to sleep in a shed with a limited water supply to have showers and wash dishes. The water we were expected to live on and not leave as a depleted supply came from the rain water reserves in a cistern. Once the supply was used up there would be none left for us to use in our daily tasks. It made me wonder what if that fear was on a global scale?
The two weeks of volunteering at Wild Mountains was intense and brought everyone back down to a grassroots level. We slept in sleeping bags on mattresses on the floor in a small loft. There was a wood stove to heat the shed and hot water for dishes or washing up. There was no television or radio as electricity was limited. We were responsible for preparing three meals a day in teams of three or four and cleaning up after everyone. Imagine the scenario: no dishwasher with dishes and pots for meals of around 15 people at every mealtime. The food was vegetarian and wholesome, as no junk food was to be found within miles. We ate together as a group, as no one was allowed to start until everyone had arrived from work. The work consisted of wood splitting, tree planting, weeding, painting, cleaning, and general construction labour. Whatever we could do to assist with getting the educational facility running by the end of August was our duty.
The entire two weeks consisted of basic living, work, and traditional values that have fallen by the wayside in our modern, urban lifestyle. A person might assume this type of experience might not be for the average 19-25 year olds from large, urban areas. Wrong! Every single student out of the nine on the volunteer work project said they loved the traditional values of sitting down for meals together, and playing cards or games in the evenings. The hectic sounds of the city were replaced by the cackling of the Kookaburras in the early morning and the deadlines of school and jobs were traded in for a shovel and a young tree needing to be planted in the hillside. Not one person was ready to go back to the hustle of their daily lives, as the step back in time to the wilderness of the mountains had positive effect on everyone.
As I resume the regular grindstone of my daily rountine, I will take with me many aspects of Wild Mountains. I will turn the faucets off when I am brushing my teeth or washing my face. I will turn all electricity off when it is not in immediate use. I will recycle more products and eliminate as much waste as possible because almost anything can be re-used. I will be aware that we share this planet with flora and fauna that have as much right to be here as we do. Most importantly, I will take the time to stop and appreciate the beauty of nature as the simplest of wonders go by un-noticed as people hustle through their lives. Thank you to the staff of Wild Mountains.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
