2/19 Blog Post

            Last week I was finally able to attend my first week of service at Tunbridge Charter school. I have to say, the experience was even better than I had hoped. I chose service for this semester because I had been looking for an opportunity to go out into the community and make an impact. Having service-learning offered this semester was a great chance for me to branch out and accomplish that goal. I chose Tunbridge School because I wanted to be able to work with kids. Many children are impressionable, and I love knowing that I have the ability to impact the way they see the world or how they are simply doing on a week to week basis. In my first session I was able to work one on one with many of the young students. The satisfaction of helping them to understand their work and seeing their faces light up when they do see it made the entire experience worthwhile. However, along with that joy, came some disappointment and frustration. When I was working with a student, she started to get worked up and emotional over the fact that she could not understand how to solve certain problems. At that moment, I felt lucky that I was someone who she was able to confide in and open up with about how she was feeling. It hurt me that she was so upset, and I wanted so badly to make her feel better. I now am looking forward to seeing her next week and working with her and also making sure she has a better, more happy day. The poems which I read reminded me of the experience which I had with these children on my first day. In the poems, each author reflects on a parent or experience which stood out to them and shaped who they are. For example, in “My Father is a Simple Man,” by Luis Omar Salinas, reflects on a fond moment that he shared with his father while at the grocery store. It is clear that the quality time which he spent with his dad impacted him so much that he was able to recall it all these years later. He talks about how his dad simply lived in his own way, despite the consistent struggles of life. He walked with his head on his shoulders and that forever inspires Salinas. Reading about the impact that Salinas’ dad had on him made me want to make an impact on the people around me. Obviously, I do not expect to make as great of an impact that a father would on his son, but I hope to impact them, in some way, for the better.