#whyiserve

If you don't already know, I taught in Providence, RI for two years. Those two years were the most challenging and rewarding years of my life. 

One of the families I taught were a brother and sister from the Dominican Republic. For the sake of making this story less confusing, we'll call them Andy and Shelly. I had Andy my first year and Shelly my second year teaching. They are two of the sweetest, most loyal teenagers I've ever met. 

The more I got to know this family, the more I learned about their journey to the United States. They had an older brother and two parents that loved each other and their kids more than anything. Due to some sort of immigration issue, when the family moved to the United States, their mother couldn't move with them.  I didn't know this until I had been teaching Andy for about six months, and even then I didn't really realize the toll it took on their family. It wasn't until I had Shelly as a student that I saw how hard it was on their family. Although they had a strong, supportive, loving father, there was no replacement for their mother. 

In January of 2013, Shelly asked me to help her write a letter to the immigration office asking them to please let her mother come to the United States. I was honored that she asked me and, of course, agreed. At the same time, boys in Shelly's Social Studies class started to sexually harass Shelly with cat calls and offensive remarks. She started skipping classes and eventually skipping school altogether. When she finally told me what was happening, I was mortified. I went to the teacher to see what was happening and he told me the same story Shelly had, except he provided more vivid descriptions of what these boys were saying. Having dealt with similar inappropriate behavior in my classroom, I asked, "Have you written them up?" His reply? "Well she brings it on herself. If she wasn't dressed like she is going to the club, they wouldn't make those comments." 

I was furious. I explained her situation to him and walked away, seething with anger. Never in my life had I heard an educator blatantly slut shame a middle school girl and condone the disgusting (learned) behaviors of middle school boys.  Eventually, Shelly's attendance dwindled more and more and I only had one (small) goodbye with her before the end of the year. Since moving, I've checked in on her and Andy via Facebook (because, lets face it, thats the only way high schoolers keep in touch). I saw that Shelly was in the DR with her mom, which made me happy. I knew that it wasn't the perfect solution, but it meant that she was with her mom. 

Flash forward to last night. I got home after reuniting with a college friend and settled in on the couch next to my boyfriend when my phone rang. It was a message from Shelly-- "Hey miss, i miss you and hope you are fine." I was elated to hear from her. We talked for a while, I asked about school, Andy, Providence, and her family. She told me about taking time from school to go to the DR, starting school again in Providence, and, the best part, her mom moving back to Providence with her. For good. FOREVER. 

I can't tell you just how happy I am for this family. When I started teaching, I never thought I would learn the things I did or be a part of other peoples families in the way i was. I may not be teaching right now, and who knows when I will next, but knowing that these children have finally been given happiness gives me hope for the world. Anytime I hear of goodness coming to any of my students, I feel like they have a true chance to overcoming the obstacles they face daily. 

After everything that's happened since I got here, I can't believe the first week of Basic Training Academy is over. Although I enjoyed the week, it felt long. Each day, I was awake and actively using my mind for much longer than I am accustomed to- at least I'm being eased into becoming an early riser! I was ready to go on the first day:

                                                         Snooze? I don't think so! 

We started off the week with a physical service day at the JFK Elementary School in Jamaica Plain. I absolutely loved the feeling of building something from scratch that will actually be used in the school. My partner, Travis, and I were responsible for building a bench that will be used in an outdoor science classroom. Check it out:

                                                                    In the works! 

                                                           The finished product. 

At the end of the day, it was great to see the school completely transformed! My fellow corps members painted murals inside and outside of the school, contributed to the school's community garden, and carried out many other projects to create a better learning environment for the students. 

Later that week, we were asked to write statements on why we chose to serve. The senior corps members all shared their statements, and hearing their stories was so powerful. I found it profound that despite the fact that everyone had a unique reason for serving, we are all here, united for a common cause. I am posting my statement here, as a reminder to myself when things undoubtedly get tough:

My favorite event of the week was a scavenger hunt through Boston. Since I've been so busy working on applications, I haven't gotten too much of a chance to explore my new city- this was a perfect place to start. We were given a list of clues and had to find various points in Boston, and document the journey with our teammates on Instagram. If you want to check out all the pictures from the day from the entire Corps, search the hashtag #meetboston on IG. Here are my favorite pictures of the day: 

                                               Team Love and Joy!