August 2010
16 posts
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Serving as senior corps
Coming into my senior corps year, I knew that I was going to have more responsibility and that it would feel different from my corps year in terms of my service. Since I’m working in the office, I have had the opportunity to see what the day to day behind the scenes looks like. I have been able to connect with the staff on a deeper level than I could last year. And I have been a part of the...
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Happy birthday to my dad
So I wrote a pretty heartfelt blog post for my mother on Mother’s Day and my dad got pretty jealous. I promised him that I would write one for him on Father’s Day, but I never got around to it. Looks like it’s going to have to be a birthday gift… and since I’m pretty broke, I’m sort of glad it ended up working out this way.
(Hey dad, at least I didn’t ask...
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Experiencing your City
One of my goals this year is to help the corps (and myself) enjoy all that San José has to offer. We spend so much time focusing on our service that we oftentimes forget to take in our surroundings and really immerse ourselves in the culture of the city. In order to help us make that a priority in our lives, I have taken it upon myself to create a monthly entertainment guide of cool (and ideally,...
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A child's interpretation of the Starfish Story
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.
She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save...
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Breaking the cycle of oppression
Every year, City Year asks its corps members to challenge themselves and come face to face with all of the different “-isms” that people have to face in our society. It can be difficult for people to look into their own ideology and experiences and to identify when they were a victim of oppression or if they themselves were the oppressor.
To gain a deeper understanding of these...
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Internalizing inspirational standards
After going to Summer Academy, I had the impression that I would really need to convince corps members to buy into our culture. Our village did a lot of role playing so we could answer the “why” questions. Why do we wear a uniform? Why can’t I jaywalk? Why can’t I keep my nose ring in?
Feeling prepared, we discussed the Excellence Standards with the corps and waited to be...
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