Volunteering in a New Community

One of the biggest things I miss from home is volunteering. I had some organizations that I really loved and that gave me something to look forward to other than schoolwork. Finding somewhere to volunteer in my new home has been a priority to me. I feel that volunteering will help me connect with my new community, and it will also allow me to meet people outside of my classes. First, I had to decide if I wanted to volunteer in an OT-realm or in some other interest; however it is hard to find something OT can’t be applied to. OT experiences are still important to have, but not as important as they were to get into OT school. Before OT school, I did some volunteering in OT realms and some not in OT realms, and I decided to the same here ideally. First, I tried to be child advocate in the court system, but my local agency was horrible about answering my questions. I accidently applied to be one a few counties away and they were excellent, so it is hit and miss. I decided I wanted to be part of a community that wanted me, so I did not pursue that opportunity. Next, my school offered the chance to be part of Miracle League. This is an adaptive baseball team. They have competitive and non-competitive teams, but I will be part of the non-competitive league. This requires a commitment of eight Saturdays, but I think I will enjoy it. It starts Saturday so we will see how it goes. I think I still want to find something that is not directly related to OT. I originally wanted to volunteer in the education field, but what I have found looks like it would require more time commitment than I currently have available. I am considering donating some of my time to the locate food bank. I feel  like I can make a regular commitment there and I will get new experiences. We will see how it pans out.   

The Roller Coaster of Camp

This week of camp had some up and downs. First, I have to say I had wonderful volunteers. They were always encouraging the kiddos and wanting to have something to do. The downside to camp this year was one of my kiddos was sent home in the first hour because camp was not a good fit, and I had a child miss the last two days because she had a medical test. She told the best stories and had the best attitude. She told me she was determined to come back to camp before she left. The biggest downside was there was a child that was resistant to participating and when he was encouraged to do so he threatened the camp and staff. He became inappropriate and had to be told to stop. I had spoken to his family and the next morning I got a note from his family saying he was spoken to about the behavior, but he was also upset that the staff said they did not believe him. I do not remember that happening and I asked the family if they could give me more details about the incident so I could figure out what was happening, but the family just said they were disappointed because this camp is usually so accepting. That was heartbreaking. It was even worse because we never saw the child again.

There were a lot of upside though that made camp a wonderful experience I want to experience again. I had this one child that was terrified of getting in the pool. She loved to sit on the edge and splash though. We would put her in the pool for five minutes everyday though for the sensory experience. She would constantly say, "Sit, sit" when she was put in the pool. Then I had this great commonsense idea. Have her sit on the stairs inside the pool. She sat there happily. Her family was so proud when they picked her up. There was a child there that I work with at hippotherapy that was in another group at camp. When he saw me a big smile came on his face and he would greet me and tell me stories. I was so excited that he knew me because when he comes in for his sessions he likes to introduce himself and his family and ask me my name. It was good to know that I had made an impression. I also saw some of the kids that I worked with last year at camp. It was impressive to see how much they have grown and improved over the year. I also had a chance to work with some of the older kids which was a new experience. It is harder when I can't physically contain some of the children in difficult experiences. However, the conversations are more engaging. Overall camp was an phenomenal experience and that I want to do again. Seeing the children in tire swings and climbing on tightropes was mind-blowing. I hope me and the kiddos get to do it again.

Get Involved

This weekend is graduation. Four years of hard work coming to an end, well hopefully. I just checked my status and it says I am missing two classes, but I am pretty sure it is just a paperwork error. It is sad that this period of my life is winding down, and I am about to leave most of what I know, but I am ready to become an occupational therapy student.

One of the saddest thing coming to an end is my sorority. I was involved in a community service sorority and it probably was one of the biggest factors to me becoming an occupational therapy student. When I came to college community service was not something I did a whole lot of, at least legit community service. I would help out with an event here or there for points for different organizations, but I never really learned the needs of my community. While the sorority had plenty of fun, fluffy projects; it also had some that really made me think. The fun, fluffy ones also introduced me to organizations that I would become more involved in and really learn about an issue facing the community. I have really become invested in education and more aware of health care issues. I went from community service being something people should do to something I passionately believe everybody should be actively doing on a regular basis.

I know it is hard to find time to volunteer. I find it to be a drag to get my butt out of bed in the morning and go, but it wakes you up and makes you feel like you have accomplished something, while sacrificing very little. It also made me aware and educated of some very important issues. I have become a huge supporter of education reform, and I am doing more than just spitting out facts that my morning news is feeding me. I really believe it is part of my duty as a citizen to not know everything, but be informed on at least a few major issues affecting the society.

Ok, I promise I am about to get off my high horse, but before I do the two take-away messages of today are volunteer and get involved in something, you never know how it is going to change your viewpoint. Hopefully, my case of senioritis will disappear enough for me to make it through finals and graduate.