Always Keep an Open Mind

In my opinion, college is all about finding yourself and discovering the world around you. So as the new school year approaches, I figured I’d write a little off the topic of volunteerism and onto something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately that I truly believe in.

The ability to think and act open mindedly can lead you to opportunities you never dreamed of. Looking back on my own experiences, I realize that just a few years ago I would have never guessed I’d be where I am now. I believe it’s this unpredictability that makes life so amazing (or difficult, depending on the situation and how you choose to look at things.)

To explain this a little better, I have a story for you:

Once upon a time, before I was even a student here at UWSP, I attended an informational session about the school and the academic programs offered. At this time I was dead set on majoring in Psychology and wanted nothing to do with learning about anything else. But, at the request of my mother, I was dragged to an informational meeting on the Sociology major. I specifically remember the professor of Sociology talking about the program and about an exciting new emphasis being offered in the field of Gerontology (the study of aging.) I believe it was at this point that I declared that this was something I would absolutely NEVER want to do. I decided I was done looking into other things; I knew what I wanted and that was that. Well, to make a long story short, the Psychology thing ended up not being right for me after all, and after trying out a couple of other majors, I finally switched to Sociology about a year and a half ago. About this same time, I found myself in need of a second job, so I applied to work at a senior living facility here in town (mostly because the pay was decent and the hours worked well with my busy student lifestyle). It was during my time at this job I discovered I had a passion for working with the elderly. I now have a minor in Gerontology. Go figure.

I guess the point that I’m trying to make here is that it’s really easy to get so focused on one thing that you shut yourself out from trying anything different. Don’t do that. A few words of wisdom for you: No matter what you’re doing or where you are planning to go, always remember to be open minded. Make sure to try new things, and expose yourself to new ideas and experiences. It’s in doing this that you may just discover the person you were always meant to be.

‘It’s amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions.’ – Charles F. Kettering

A Note on Perseverance and Teamwork

This last weekend I was out at Buckhorn State Park for a volunteer/camping trip. This trip definitely opened my eyes to a lot of different things, and I can honestly say I learned a LOT (not only within my position here at SIEO but personally as well).

Just for fun, I’ve decided to compile a little list
for your viewing pleasure:

THINGS I LEARNED:

- ALWAYS check the weather forecast BEFORE you leave to go camping
- ALWAYS make sure the camping equipment you rent WORKS BEFORE you leave
- Never take the luxury of showering for granted
- You can never have enough hand sanitizer and bug spray
- Pita bread pizzas made over a campfire taste AMAZING and
- Apples to Apples may be the best game ever created…

- But the MOST important thing I learned this weekend was that …

Throughout anything you do in life, having the ability to work successfully in a group will help you out. There were many times where my group could have given up, packed up our things and headed home, but we worked together through the rain and the mosquitoes, stuck it out, did some great work for the park and gained some hilarious memories in the process. This trip was a bit of a challenge, and I’d like to personally thank Kristi, Jenna, Jourdyn, Jaqi, and Courtney for being so awesome.

(And give an EXTRA BIG thanks to Courtney for being my designated scary - bug – picker -upper)

I love New Orleans

I just got back from a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana last week. I was chaperoning a group of youth from my church attending a conference that was made up of over 38,000 people. The trip had a big emphasis on service, so when I was asked to be a chaperone I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.

We spent six days in Louisiana, touring the city, eating amazing Cajun food, and helping the citizens of New Orleans get back on their feet after their lives were devastated by hurricanes years before. Believe me when I say, there is still a lot of work to do.

Our service project was to work with the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity organization to build homes for people that had lost theirs to Hurricane Katrina. We spent a day putting up siding in the 90 degree humid Louisiana heat. It was hot, miserable work but after hearing the home recipient share her story and her gratitude, none of us wanted to stop working.

I heard a statistic sometime during the week I was there that in 3 days, with 38,000 people, we did what would have taken the city of New Orleans 3 years to accomplish. I cannot even express to you how thrilled I was to be a part of that.

Every night, all 38,000 of us would head over the New Orleans Superdome where we listened to speakers from all over the world share their amazing stories about making a difference and the inspiration that lead them to do so.

One particular night, a speaker told us about his journey and about how important it is that this generation work together to make a difference in the world. With what we had accomplished in just that one week in New Orleans, I believe it’s true that there certainly is power in numbers. If you just get enough people that want to change something, anything can be possible.

I’d like to share with you one of my favorite memories of the week:

As we were all seated in the superdome one night, the lights were dimmed, and everyone was directed to take out their cell phones, turn them on, and hold them high above their heads. Row by row, starting at the very bottom on the floor, and extending up to the very top of the stadium all these little lights shone brightly, until the whole dome looked liked the night sky. As I looked around at all those lights, I kept thinking about what that speaker had said, about how if we all work together, we can accomplish great things. And, there it was, right in front of me, something great, in a representation of light.

I had such a great time in New Orleans, but I’m really excited to be back here and act on all the amazing things I learned. I’ve come back to Wisconsin feeling refreshed and motivated and I can’t help but think that this year is going to be good. Real good.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi