Reflect on your previous blogs and the activities we have done this semester. Which class was your favorite, and why? Do you think the classes adequately prepared you for trip? If yes, how so? If no, then why not?
What parts of your trip are you most excited for? What experiences do you think will be learning opportunities? (This is great way to help assess your incoming expectations for the final)
Blog posts should be 200-400 words, proofread, and devoid of errors.
Email kualbreaks@gmail.com if you have any questions!
This post is due by Friday, May 15 by 5 pm.
For the first few classes, I was terrified for the trip, and that fear hasn't completely subsided, yet. We didn't have our housing prepared, I barely knew my group, and all I could think about was how I'd be halfway across the country away from any comfort zone I've ever experienced. Coming into the last class, all of this was severely present in my mind. But I’ve been reflecting and mentally preparing a comfort zone for myself in regards to the upcoming twenty two hour car ride with people I’ve met six times thus far for a total of around ten hours of bonding.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite class was probably the second (if I’m remembering correctly) with the identity wheel. Though I excluded my marginalized identities from the wheel because I didn’t feel comfortable sharing them with the Playworks group that I had met once before, let alone the entire Alternative Breaks roster. The activity forced me to honestly reflect on what I value as myself. It put me in an existential mindset to establish a sort of hierarchy with which identities I value most and consider most “me.”
The classes prepared me for a theoretical perspective on the trip, but I don’t think there is any way for the classes to prepare me for whatever experience is coming my way. For me, physical space is how I characterize everything within my head, and I have no idea what to expect of Playworks or even L.A. in terms of physical space, whether the architecture of the facilities or the proximity between me and the children. I feel that the classes have prepared me for a form of mental acknowledgement of privilege within the situations I will encounter in L.A., but truthfully there’s no way to know what will happen. In the final class, someone said “Expect the unexpected.” This phrase doesn’t really mean much and fails to point to anything concrete, but that’s the beauty of the saying. I have no idea who I’ll meet, what I’ll encounter, what will make me laugh or cry, or what emotions I’ll have throughout the entire experience. I’m excited for whatever’s coming my way, but excitement is often doubled with anxiety and occasionally fear.
My favorite class was the one where we did the Hunger-games activity. The reason why I liked this one so much is because it taught me how it is easy to be oblivious to the struggles that some people are facing everyday in their lives. It also got me to know other people going on Alternative Breaks better. I think the classes prepared me for my trip pretty well. They taught me what to be aware of on my trip as well as about nonprofit organizations like my organizations. They also allowed me to get to know the individuals that are going on my trip with me better.
ReplyDeleteI am most excited to actually work with the people when I get there. I think that I will hopefully learn a lot about Alzheimer’s disease from this experience. I think the biggest learning opportunity that I will have is when I help out the people that have Alzheimer’s disease because it will help to understand the disease better. This will also help me out in the future because I am going to nursing school and in my line of work I may have to work with people that have Alzheimer’s disease. I am also looking forward to getting closer to the people that are in my group.
My favorite class was class four. The class started with a short lecture by Dr. Stroup, which I found very interesting. The information she provided helped me answer some of the questions that I had about non-profit organizations. I think that non-profits are something that are talked about often, but not completely understood by many people. It was great to learn about these organizations from someone as knowledgeable as Dr. Stroup. The second half of the class was focused on two articles about the pitfalls and harms of volunteering. I think this was the most valuable class to me because it got me thinking about my motives. Reading the articles made me consider weather I was just trying to have a cheap vacation for myself, or if I truly wanted to do something that will benefit others. I reached a conclusion. It is not simple to categorize what motivates one to go on a trip like this, but I have decided that I am doing it for myself and for a cause. I want to learn how it feels to donate an entire week to a cause that I believe in, it will be an experience that could set my life on a new trajectory. I also care about the cause that I am serving, so I also hope to make a beneficial difference to the site. One of the articles we read said that it was okay to be motivated somewhat in self-interest when volunteering. This is an idea that I completely agree with. Volunteering should be a beneficial experience for both parties, and I believe that with this knowledge I am prepared to go do my best work at Best Friends Animal Society.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite class was the second class, where we did the Identity Wheels. I really enjoyed making my Identity Wheel, as it allowed me to evaluate the qualities of mine that are most important to me and what it is that defines me. It was also very rewarding to be able to share my identities with my group and get to know them in this way. I think it was particularly pertinent to discuss identities, privilege, and oppression within my group because we are going to work on LGBT and homeless issues during our break. LGBT people experience a great deal of oppression due to their identities, as do the homeless, so recognizing this oppression is very important to the goals of the organization with which we are working. I think the classes helped me get to know my group as much as possible in the short period of time before we travel together. I also believe my group was excellent at communicating new knowledge about our break over the course of the class, even though our contacts were sometimes slow at responding, and we usually discussed new information about the break during class.
ReplyDeleteI am most excited to work with the community during my break. Human connection is very important to me, and I believe that I have much to learn from the people in Atlanta, both with City of Light and in the general community. I am also excited to take part in all of the service that we have worked with City of Light to plan. I believe that most of my experiences will be learning opportunities, and most of the things I learn will come from the people around me. I have no idea what sort of experiences I will have, but I believe that I will be working to help people who have experienced far less privilege throughout their lives than I have – and perhaps far more obstacles – and I believe that if I keep an open mind, I will be able to learn much from all of my experiences.