Video/Pictures/Final Blog

To end this semester, I thought I would do a short blog that included some of the things I had learned but didn't have time to put in my video, some of the pictures I took, and my actual video. 


So, real quick, some things I think worth mentioning that was discussed in forum:

• Sometimes the hardest thing about volunteering is just getting there.
• Kay Parker is an angel.
• There are more ways than you might realize to get involved. 
• Love your neighbor as yourself. 
• Find what you are meant to do.
• "You may not live what you profess, but you will undoubtedly live what you believe."

There is a ton of other things that I learned, but I have not included. I am so happy with the platform that I chose: health, and I am looking forward to continuing in some of the volunteering that I have done and the new opportunities that will undoubtedly pop up. 

Here's my video: (Don't you just love how it starts out)

Finally, some pictures that I took: 

 Shoals Community Soup Kitchen

Killen United Methodist Food and Clothes Give-A-Way

Luv yo neighba as yo self

There were two things that Dr. Barry Morris said that stuck out to me:

The first was: "To love your neighbor as yourself, you have to love yourself first." Now, this might sound crazy, but for me,  sometimes I love my neighbor better than myself. At least in some aspects. Don't get me wrong, I believe putting others before yourself is very important. But what I mean, is sometimes it's easy for me to be very critical of myself. I can be very generous to others, but not to myself. When it comes to grades, appearance, social interactions, etc. I'm quick to be criticize myself. I feel like this is true for some people as well. That's something that I've been working on as of late: to be more forgiving of myself. Because really, why put unrealistic expectations on yourself?

The second thing that stuck out to me was how important it is to be smart with your money. I appreciated the website he gave us to make a budget. I think it would be shocking if I wrote down every thing I spent money on in a week. I'm pretty sure 60% would be food and 40% would be gas. He also said that if you don't start now, you never will. Which is true for so many situations. "Oh, I'll go to the gym starting tomorrow." or "Oh, I'll stop over consuming sweets starting on Sunday, since it's actually the start of the week." Biggest. Lies. Ever. (and I know I got off on a tangent there).

Blessed because of it.

Most of my blog posts consist of me pointing out and expounding a few things that the speaker said. This one will be no different, but I am going to add in a few thoughts about what I thought overall of forum.

I liked Dr. Tom Osbourne and the work that he does. It was cool to have a speaker that was obviously working through a religious context, because I am the same way. Getting involved and reaching out to people is something that I feel is important and even though I have to acquire these volunteer hours for the honors program, I want to continue to volunteer even when it's not required of me. Prison ministry doesn't really appeal to me, and so that makes me have respect for Dr. Osbourne for what he does. I also appreciate the reason why he got involved: because The Bible says to visit those in prison. It's nice to see faith put into action and it inspires me.

Now, to point out a few things he said:

"There is an understandable human reluctance to jump in and help. You will never lose it, but you can overcome it."

This is so true. The hardest part is getting there, but once you do, you are glad for it. Which brings me to the next quote of his:

"I thought I would do this to help them, but it was a great blessing for me."

This is exactly what has been repeated all semester long. Volunteering changes you, and you are blessed because of it. 

Boldly by the Beard

Let me just jump right in. Looking back on my notes from Monday night, there is a few things that Mr. Rusevylan said that stood out to me. One was:

"Share life."

Honestly, I have no idea why he said that. But it's good. And such a simple thing. It reminds me of a Bible verse:  "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." -1st Thessalonians 2:8

That verse applies to something else that Mr. Rusevylan said:

"Stop throwing money at people, and say that you fixed it." 

What's wrong with giving money donations, you as,. Nothing. They are important. But it is also our responsibility to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. Sharing life with people, actually spending time getting to know them, will have more of an impact than writing a check ever will. 

I want to mention one last thing that Mr. Rusevylan said. He mentioned that people will say no for two reasons: either they are scared of failure, or they don't want to take the time. I thought this was very profound and it made me thing of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson and I will end with that.

"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers."

update

Last week's forum was pretty interesting. After chatting awhile, the discussion turned to what volunteer hours people had already gotten. I think more than half the people were internally praying not to be called on. I felt awkward listening to people explain why they hadn't earned any hours. Most people are skilled at procrastination. But, I don't think that's the reason why many people have put off volunteering.  We are just busy. That's such a cliche thing to say, but it's true. For me, trying to keep up my grades, working, maintaining a healthy sleep/exercise schedule, helping out with the organizations I'm involved in, and having a social life is hard to keep under control. When I evaluate that sentence, it does kind of seem that what does make up daily routine is primarily focused on me. But, like Christian Baynes pointed out, a lot of the organizations we are involved in are focused on other people. I know that's true for me.

All that being said, I have earned the minimum amount of volunteer hours I need, and I have loved doing it. Just yesterday, I volunteered at the soup kitchen, and I had a little help from my friends: Kristen, Elise, and Brandon. It was so much fun, and it's something I want to make part of my weekly routine.

Cheers.

Can't say that I agree.

Hmm, where to begin. I guess I was a little different than many of the other students in forum last Monday because I actually had met Bradley Dean before. This was the first speaker I knew beforehand, and I must say, it makes the forum experience a little different. Instead of only hearing what the person is saying, you also have your own personal experience with the person that influences how you react to the message. From working with Bradley before, I found him to be a humorous, nice guy. My opinion of him did not change as he spoke Monday night, but I also discovered I disagreed with his view on a few matters.

I was rubbed the wrong way when he talked about instituting regulations for houses in the historic downtown area. I understand it is historic, and you want to preserve that prestige. However, I feel like, what that board is doing is just trying to force people to conform to what they think is "the best". I know the board he is on serves a purpose and  I do believe it's better to get involved in something rather than not at all but for me, I would rather spend my time and energy on something more meaningful. In the big picture of life, does is really matter what color your house is? I hope not.

But who knows, maybe my mind will change when I am older and I am the owner of my own house. I'm not stupid enough to believe that my view is the only valid point. But my view is what I believe and like I said, I would rather spend my time on something that I feel has meaning. Something that helps people that need it. People that are hurting.

All this being said, I would like to point out that even though I disagreed with some of what Bradley said, I loved his point on the first follower. Ever since I was a little kid, the phrase "Be a leader, not a follower." has been drilled into my head. Bradley presented a fresh perspective, and I liked it. Sometimes, I think the best thing to do is already use the reserouces around you. If somebody has started something that you think has potentional, jump in! Don't start your own thing, that is essentially the same, all because you want to be a leader. Be the first follower. Two are better than one.

That's just my thoughts.

Impartiality, please

Leslie Thomlinson (apologies for the spelling) from Junior League of the Shoals was our speaker Monday night. I liked her; I thought she was a lively speaker. However, the organization she was a part of rubbed me the wrong way. You can count me out of any organization that is selective and snotty like the district league was. Now I know the district league turned into the junior league and it isn't exclusive anymore and I appreciate that. It just seemed like that even though the organization changed, the member's mindset didn't. At least for the most part. I don't want to sound judgmental or make assumptions. That's why I'm having a hard time saying all this. And I'm not trying to diminish the goodness of what they do. I even liked the Kids in the Kitchen event that she mentioned. I just didn't like the organization. I'm sorry, it's just not for me. And you know what, that is just fine.