I’ve never been one for inspirational quotes. I find them tacky and usually a little bit like a false epiphany, but I have recently come to feel the meaning behind one of John Lennon’s most famous lyrics. They are words that I have seen all over Tumblr, Pinterest, and on random prints in TJ Maxx, strangely enough. In his song,… Read more →
AmeriCorps: The Sierra Nevada and The Last Hurrah
Heat. We were back to the heat. When we had found out that our last project would be working in the Sierra Nevada at a Quaker Outdoor Education Camp (don’t worry I will explain), I felt an immense relief. Surely, in Nevada City, at the base of a large mountain range, we would benefit from chillier weather. This was not… Read more →
AmeriCorps: A Midwestern Girl in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest = Love? Back when I first started this blog I wrote an article titled “Love Is A Bonus.” It was about how there are many different kinds of love and how we tend to put romantic love on a pedestal and expect it to make up for all other deficiencies in our life. I argued that you… Read more →
AmeriCorps: An Oldish Dog Learns Conservation
As promised, here I am giving you some of the rest of my AmeriCorps experience. To be honest, sitting down to write this was like pulling teeth. It’s like when I get behind on my journal, and the mere thought of back-writing causes me to be productive in nearly every other area of my life in an attempt to avoid… Read more →
On Life: Decisions
If you read my blog on a semi-regular basis, you’ll probably have noticed that it’s been nearly six months since my last post. This wasn’t intentional, and I will go back and kind of back-blog about the end of AmeriCorps. I still have a lot to say about that experience that I’ve told family and friends and my personal journal… Read more →
AmeriCorps: Leaving the Desert
I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Chicago winters. I miss the snow and biting wind, bundling up and scraping the ice off your car in the morning. I miss the possibility of snow days and the rare Polar Vortex. I’ve only ever lived in cold Midwestern climates, from Chicago to St. Louis, and AmeriCorps has now driven… Read more →
AmeriCorps: Walking The Walk in Coachella Valley
As the Women’s Marches continue around the world following Trump’s inauguration, and I lament the fact that I cannot join my fellow feminists, I have to remind myself that I am doing good in my own way here in Coachella. I say Coachella, and people think of white girls in flower crowns and culturally appropriating garb. Every year during the… Read more →
AmeriCorps: What I Learned on Spike 1
This week we had the reveal for our next AmeriCorps spike, and on January 11 we will be moving down to Indio, California, a suburb of Palm Springs located just outside Joshua Tree National Park. During the day, we will be working with an organization similar to Habitat for Humanity that builds houses for low-income families, and at night we… Read more →
AmeriCorps: A Survivor’s Story
Diction is important when it comes to serving others. It can be the difference between patronizing the people you are serving and empowering them. I had learned this prior to joining, but AmeriCorps NCCC helped me to understand the practical applications of this lesson. When my team, Green 7, arrived in Baton Rouge to provide flood disaster relief, we were… Read more →
AmeriCorps: A Study in Being Uncomfortable
Imagine driving from Northern California to Louisiana. Imagine driving 10 hours a day for five days. Now imagine you have to do it packed into one van like sardines with 11 other people. If there is a hell on Earth, I suppose it would be something like the experience I just described. It’s just downright uncomfortable. I arrived in Baton… Read more →