You guys have no idea what I went through today for the COTOPAXI QUESTIVAL

Racial Tension

Unfortunately, honestly totally unfortunately, I was unable to see the racial panel because I was out of town. I was really looking forward to it. However, I really enjoyed the number of discussions we had about race last week. The video we watched on the case and riots were really eye opening. As we discussed in class, I found it really interesting to think about it from the rioter's perspective. I talked about it with my mom at home afterwards and it is so true, that although, as a white teenage girl living in an affluent area, I think what the black people did was crazy and uncalled for and so dangerously far. When I stop and think about what they were facing, it honestly makes sense. How else would they be able to progress forward and improve their situation. If they just spoke, there would be little to no action taken and their would still be policemen beating them up for no reason and judges and juries ruling against their favor. I think that race was a very interesting topic to study because it is something that we all deal with and experience everyday no matter our skin color, especially in the melting pot of the United States.

LGBTQ

A few weeks ago a panel of LGBTQ students came to speak with our class. I think that this panel was a really fabulous idea and I am sad I was unable to attend the race panel that occurred today. This was a really great idea to expose students to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of different sexualities. As students at Stevenson High School, I think we are very comfortable in our own routine and very focused on ourselves and our academic lives, rarely taking the time to step outside of our own boundaries to consider the lives of people outside our friend group. Personally, I try to always be inclusive and kind, but I really didn't know much about this specific part of our population, nor do I come into contact with many of them. Hearing the events in their lives that have shaped them into who they are today was very touching, especially hearing the struggles they had to go through with their parents, family, and friends, as well as the everyday difficulties they have with bathrooms, locker rooms, etc. What was nice to hear, on the other hand, was the relief they felt when at Stevenson, with the exception of the bullies one might find in the hallway. Learning about their lives really taught me a lot more and increased the respect I have for these people. This really strengthened my perspective as a student from a very religious christian family, and living with my 90+ year old grandparents (who are very traditional and stuck in their ways and complete disdain all LGBTQ people). Living in a more liberal age and area, I think it is important for us to expand our horizons and step outside of our comfort zone.

The Mother's Trust Foundation

My mom has worked with the Mother's Trust Foundation for a long time. It is an organization out of Lake Forest that raises money and collects donations to give to underpriviledged families. A few years ago the organization opened up a teen section to contribute to donations and fundraisers. I began volunteering with them last year. Every year, the teen section runs a coat drive in December and a baby item drive in the Spring. As the only memer who lives in Long Grove, I opened up my own sector of the teen drive. Last Saturday I completed the spring drive, dropping off a toyota highlander full of items collected from various locations around Long Grove and Buffalo Grove, including St. Mary's Church, Reverie Dance Academy, and the Peppermint Stick. The items collected for this drive were donated to mothers in Lake and Cook County who had children between teh ages of 0-2 years old who are unable to provide for their children. Although I wasn't able to meet the mothers and children receiving this aid, the amazing thing about our coat drive is that I am able to meet the families receiving the winter apparrel items.
In the winter coat drive, what really was amazing to me was the gratitude I saw from people of all ages. I witnessed young girls jump with excitement when they saw a dirty, old pair of boots and warm, dry socks. Although I am not in a great inancial situation, especially compared to the majority of Stevenson, I was really able to gain a new perspective overwhat I do have. Most of the people there were people of color and the teenagers I saw probably went to a bad high school. Unlike me, who has the opportunity, drive, and support to work hard in my jobs and in school, they have very different support systems and role models. I really, really enjoyed this experience, meeting people of all different ages, races, ethnicities, and religions. People of all different walks of life who ended up in the same situation. It is really worth the hard hours and multiple phone calls to find places that will hold change and collection jars.

Sunday School

This Sunday I volunteered at my church, leading a youth group of ages 4-5. Every Sunday I volunteer with these children, teaching them about the Bible and the Lord, watching them grow. Because it is at a church the people, both young and old, are all Christian. It is, however, a nondenominational church, so the people are off all different sects of Christianity: Catholic, Protestant, Lutheran, etc. As a Youth leader I work with children and other adults. The people I work with are of all races and ethnicities. I ignore all of the skin colors and unique features that surround me, trying to include everyone whether they are in my group or not. Before church actually stops there is about 30 minutes where all the children have a time to play and interact with eachother. This is a really nice time for the children to meet others and to get to know other children from different areas and of different races. As a chaperone/facilitator/leader, I try to look for the kids that are playing alone or isolating themselves from others. If I see any children alone, I invite them to play with me and a few other children. The most rewarding part is as the children begin to play and interact in depth I am able to back away from them and watch as they form new friendships and strenghen bonds.
I volunteer as a church leader for 2 hours, and the drive one way is 30 minutes. That makes my voluneer service 3 hours every sunday. I don't mind this time spent in church because, first I don't mind being in church, but also because I truly love the relationships I have developed with the children I teach. I love working with children, all 5 of my paying jobs are doing something with children, but doing this on my own time and really having the ability to get to knonw the children all around, not just through their school work or in dance class, is a real treat. It is a really wonderful experience to get to know them in a peaceful atmosphere.

Family Matters

As I asked my mom the first question, about what expectations she had for me before I was born, she looked at me shocked and said nothing. I continued to prompt, trying to get some sort of answer, and she said literally all that mattered was having healthy babies. When I continued to question her, she explained to me why. My grandma had 7 miscarriages and 1 successful birth of a baby girl, who died when she was 3 months old. Finally my grandpa said no more and they adopted 2 children, my uncle and my mom. Because of this past, my grandparents basically said everything my mom did would cause a miscarriage, because this was what they believed/were told. She couldn't lift her arms over her head, or eat too much garlic (which is hard for us Italians). She lived in fear everyday that she would do something wrong and her baby would die, so all she ever prayed for and expected was a healthy baby. The values question was a difficult one for my mom to answer. Raising us on her own, she has done her best to teach us all that she could, and to be the best version of ourselves. She said that she tried to raise us with a sense of charity and service, as well as compassion and kindness. She also tried to instill a sense of family, home, love, and friendship. Done with the moral values, my mom said she also tried to teach us good work ethics and always told us to prioritize God first, then family, then work. My mom said that I act nothing like my father. I have my personality from her. It's a personality "filled with color" as she put it. That my giggles and love for laughter, happiness, and life itself come from her. I have also inherited her flexibility and free-spirit, enabling us to plan trips and change plans in a heartbeat (not always what my siblings like to do). I found this interesting because I haven't seen my father in 11 years so I was curious if she thought this was because of that, or I was born that way. To answer this question she told me that my brother and sister are much more like my father. Saying that the way they analyze and think about everything they are going to do is very much like him. Also, their stubbornness and need to always have the final word comes from him as well. Finally I asked her if there was anything from him she saw in me. She told me I got his big brown eyes and thick eye lashes, however, nobody knows where I got my height. She also said that in the morning I wake up just like he does, "like a turtle coming out of it's shell" is how she described it, emerging from the blankets in the morning, rather than burying myself under them (like my sister). I think looking at these things were especially interesting because they show what my brother, sister, and I received genetically from our father (because none of us know him) and what we all inherited from my mother as she raised us.

Tuesdays With Morrie

In Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch quickly became the portrayal of a typical American. He was so focused on deadlines and time management that he rarely stopped to think and enjoy himself. This focus on deadlines stems from his, like many other's, obsession with success. He was so focused on having a "full" and "complete" life, thinking the way to do this was by creating a family, making lots of money, and having a successful/steady job. Even his Tuesdays spent with Morrie began for work, recording his stories and theories for his writing. Another folkway of the American culture that Mitch holds true is to not talk about death. Whenever the subject would come up, Mitch would change subjects, and if it didn't, he avoided it. 

Morrie, on the other hand, consistently breaks these folkways. He openly speaks about death and what is happening to him, often relaying his belief that "we must love each other or die". Morrie also teaches Mitch something that many Americans should learn, to just stop and appreciate. He wants Mitch to just stop, to take a break from all of his deadlines and requirements, and to look around and see the beauty in the world and appreciate the life he was given. Something that I really like that Morrie said was that "we always need others to survive. When we die, are born, and especially in between, however our culture looks down on dependency". I greatly agree with this statement. We all seek to become "independent". Personally, I have been looking forward to going away from home, far away, to college since I was probably about 9 years old. I love traveling alone and being able to get around without needing my mom to chauffeur me. Even though I enjoy this independence, I am still greatly aware of my dependence on others. I am connected to people and dependent on them for everything I do and receive. The food I buy from grocery stores, the gas I put in my car, the books I read, the clothes I wear, everything I use is made or grown or transported by someone else. I depend on my teachers, my parents, my friends, my employers, etc. This is not only me, but everyone in the WORLD, yet everyone glorifies this idea of independence, seeing it as a sign of success. It is like what Morrie says, "we must love each other or die". If we choose to not love each other, this dependency that keeps us alive will fail us, because we will refuse to accept this dependency or allow others to depend on us.