Handprint Butterflies and Paper-Weave Fishes

Yesterday, Camille and I traveled with the Mann family to Mom's Place, a care facility for homeless mother and children in Detroit. We brought alone 60 informative books ranging from topics of marine life to insects. As my previous blog had noted, we had planned on doing two different paper crafts with them after we read them a story:

1) Making paper-weave fish

2) Making handprint butterflies.

I had no idea what to expect, as we had talked to Mrs. Mann previously. She had told us that the number of children varied widely, as much as 5 to 20 children could show up, depending on the week. We didn't even know the range of ages of children, and I hoped that the children would quietly sit there and do their crafts.

After arriving at Mom's Place, we set up our crafts while other volunteered fetched the children from the residential building nearby. Once the children were there, we gathered them into a circle and gave them a choice between a bug story and a fish story. With popular consensus, we ended up reading "Swimmy," a childrens book about a black fish, to them. We started noticing that the children were getting restless, so we had to quickly move onto crafts.

At first, the crafts went great. The children were enthralled with the colored paper and our example projects that we showed them. We split them up into two tables, one table taking the fish project (with Camille), another taking the butterfly project (with me).

The children loved to color and design their own butterfly wings and eagerly began tracing out their handprint, with a little help from me in tracing their opposite hand and cutting out their handprint.

As time wore on, however, the children gradually began to lose interest, and squirmed in their seats; they needed to run around and wanted to play dress-up instead. We realized that our fish paper weaving project was too difficult for the age group and that we needed something more simple, rather than the complex directions that had children scratching their heads. The butterfly project, on the other hand, was perfect, with just enough fun and skill mixed together to captivate the children. Ultimately, we managed to help the restless children finish their projects and then let them play.

After their project and play time, the children were allowed to play outside. The older volunteers acted both as playmates and referees, drawing the line between play and bullying. Camille and I soon found ourselves pushing squealing children down the slide and twirling children around. We helped children fill up buckets of rocks to make "sand-castles" and reprimanding children for stealing other child's action figures. Inside, we played pretend with them, pretending to buy pizza and $60 bananas.

When we left at 12:30, we were tuckered out. Yet, as we walked the children back to the residential building, the true impact of our actions became clear. As we entered the building, I noticed the living conditions of each child: in a room roughly the size of our high school gym, there were beds littered here and there, each bed occupied with a mother and child. The children eagerly showed their mother what they made, true happiness showing in their faces, proud of their own work.

Just as I had mentioned with my actions at Logan Elementary, my small actions of donating some small crafts and a few hours of my time on a Saturday led to the betterment (in a small way) of a child's life, a few hours away from the poverty that was so evident in the residential building. Not only as I able to engage in the global issue of poverty in a local manner through helping local children in Detroit, but I had fun doing so. I laughed at some of the silly antics of the children, as they played pretend and dressed in princess dresses. Ethically, I was able to impart some good through my actions, increasing the happiness of the children in those few meager hours.

Overall, it was a fulfilling experience. I humbled by the poverty that the children lived in, and my humility will only drive me to continue on with my project, to do similar things in other areas, or perhaps, to visit Mom's Place again.

Under the Sea

Today, I met with Camille Squires and we discussed our plans for our project, in which we donate books to women and children at a homeless shelter. Camille had talked to Brittany Mann and got some information about the shelter along with some advice for our project.

I brought some sample books along to our meeting at a local Starbucks and we decided that we were going to give these books to the children and perhaps read a little with them, as the book was a bit more text-heavy than expected. Thus, after a reading time, we'd do some related crafts with them.

After much mulling, we decided to incorporate a "marine" and "insect" theme to correspond with our books and do paper weaving with marine animal shapes and also do a paper handprint butterfly. For our first one, we would have shapes such as fish, dolphins, whales, and octopuses cut out with little slits for paper weaving. The paper weaving bit would look something like this:

In a similar manner, children could also choose to make a handprint butterfly in which they would trace our their handprint four times and use those to make the wings of a butterfly.

We decided, after much thought, to work on our idea this weekend and try it out next saturday.
Not only is it important to recognize the global importance of helping others less unfortunate, but also to realize that my small actions through giving children a book and couple of hours of fun crafting could brighten a child's day.

Cross Country

Last weekend, Women's Cross Country went to Regionals, where we hoped to qualify to states as a team. Mrs. Winter had told us that we had a good chance to qualify, and we traveled to Linden HS with hopeful hearts.

When we got there, it was freezing, and the girls went over the course, making sure to notice any stumps or ditches in the ground. Afterwards, the girls went to cheer on the boys team, who ended up doing amazing and qualifying for states as a team. When the time for the race came, everyone was nervous, but everyone ran strong, with many running Personal Records and Season Records. We ended up doing well, with Monica, our fastest girl, qualifying for States.

For my part, it turned out that this course wasn't very manager-friendly, with the 1M and 2M placed far apart. I couldn't go to both the 1M and 2M and expect to get all the times. To solve this problem, I worked together with Maithri, a girl on the team, and she got the 1M times while I got the 2M and finish times. Later we would meet up and compile all the split times for the girls onto one sheet. Together, we managed to write down all the times for every split, an impressive feat considering the course. Only through such collaboration could this happen.

With regionals and States (this weekend) over, my last HS cross country season is coming to a close and I look back on the goals that I had set in the beginning of the season. Although I did not manage to run in more than 4 races or under 25 minutes, I feel that I had successfully achieved my last goal: to remain positive. During hard practices, I'd keep smiling and cheering other girls on, giving them encouragement.

XC. What a season <3

Turning over a New Leaf

Recently, I've mulled over my previous idea of "Food for Thought," in which we would raise money through a bake sale to buy books to donate to a school that needed such educational books. However, I decided that such actions were too impersonal for my tastes. I wanted something more hands-on, I wanted to be able to physically see the impact that my work had on a school.

Thus, with help from Mrs. Sandoval, I decided that my project would now be focused on something new entirely, while still maintaining the same basic idea of donating books. However, I felt that with my experience in both China and Costa in saving endangered animals, combined with Camille's own work in GYLI, we could impart some of our own knowledge whilst still providing the educational benefit of donating the books to a needy school. Thus, I decided that our actions could have a much more personalized and beneficial impact if, when we donated the books, we also gave a speech on our experiences in maintaining the environment.

I think I'll push forward with this idea, and I'll contact some schools about it.

Old Skool Classic.

This Saturday marked the first meet that I ran this season of Cross Country. But it also marked the last Old Skool Classic race that I will run my high school years.

As I mentioned before, I had been injured with stress fractures in both my shins my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. This year, I trained extra carefully with the girls on the team to make sure that I didn't get injured, and I successfully ran this last meet.

Going into the meet, I had hoped to run with Keya, Anika and Nata, some of the senior girls on the team. I had also wished to beat my time of 28:56 that I got last year when I ran the Old Skool Classic.

I ran through a river, jumped over hay bales, and finished the 3.1 (5k) mile race. All in 27:18 minutes. Faster than last year's run.

Yet, I failed to keep up with the other Senior girls that ran the race, as they had practiced much more and ran much more miles than I had this season.

This race was a mixture of excitement and disappointment. But moreover, it was a show of my perseverance and commitment to the XC team.

Cross Country

XC pre-season practice officially began on August 16th, marking the beginning of Cross Country. We've been meeting every week day from 9:00 to 11:00am, doing practices at school. I've mostly ran with my teammates, doing the same distance runs but modified slightly to allow me to smoothly transition into running again after a long shin injury.

Tomorrow, we have a Troy Athens invite at Firefighter's Park. I really want to run tomorrow, so hopefully coach will give me the go-ahead to run. However, I mostly expect to be playing my role of Manager tomorrow and getting the time-splits of the runners.

I'd like to set some goals that I'd like to accomplish my(last) season of Cross Country.

1. Run in at least more than 4 races.

2. Run under 25 minutes.

3. Keep a positive attitude about hard practices/races

Lora Turtles, Night Walks, and Red Flashlights.

Yesterday, I got back from Costa Rica. Back from the hot days and rainy afternoons. Back from the graveyard shift night walks.

Overall, the trip with the teen summer program Rustic Pathways was amazing. Although I was slightly apprehensive because of the small group number, the trip was still a blast.

We first arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica where we boarded a bus and took a 5-hour long bus ride to Playa Camaronal. Our group would stay there for five days, where we'd do labor (such as shoveling sand to extend the hatchery, cleaning the trash off the beach, and moving driftwood to clear the way for the turtles). Also, because most of the work was at night, it usually left the day-time free, when our group would visit an art museum and carve our own stamps or go zip-lining. At night, we'd have night walks, where a group of three would be accompanied by a guide and we'd patrol the beach for turtle tracks, following them to a nest or even a nesting turtle. Turtle sighting at Camaronal were rare, although my group saw a Lora Turtle (or a Ridley Sea Turtle) lay about 115 eggs. Our group would dig up the eggs and place them in a outdoor hatchery. Similarly, our collaboration extended to other labor activities such as ridding the beach of driftwood. While one person couldn't lift a huge log, many people could together, and our group worked together to clear a section of the beach of everything from logs to sticks.

After all the work that we did in Camaronal, we took a 2-hour bus ride to Samara, where we stayed for a couple days to relax and have fun. The other kids in my group, Linden, Patrick and Emery, went surfing while I relaxed with Meredith (the counselor).

We then headed back to work at Playa Ostional, where the refuge was more research-oriented than the refuge at Playa Camaronal. At Ostional, we did night walks, but when we came across a turtle, we only tagged the turtles and took various measurements. I personally couldn't understand why the eggs were left to the mercy of egg-thieves (which were common in Costa Rica as turtle eggs were considered a delicacy to Costa Ricans) and stray dogs. In my opinion, to help preserve the turtle species, every egg should be, to the best of a refuge's abilities, protected and nurtured. Not sold to Costa Ricans for food in bags, as the refuge at Ostional did in times of a mass-nesting, or left to fend for themselves. Although I didn't quite agree with the actions of the refuge, I was determined the help the turtles in any way possible and I realized that due to the massive numbers of turtles arriving at Playa Ostional, saving every egg was nearly impossible. Instead, the information garnered from our observation of the turtles along with the money generated from tourism to see the turtles would indirectly positively affect the turtles- helping in an indirect manner, but helping nonetheless.

Summer.

School is drawing to a close, and summer is drawing closer and closer.

Last summer, I had gone with Rustic Pathways, a summer program which gives students many volunteer services, to China, where I had taken care of pandas.

This summer, I'm planning on participating with their Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Costa Rica. I had enjoyed last year so much that I decided to volunteer with this program again. There, I will work my hardest to help save leatherback sea turtles from extinction. During the morning, I'll work on the beach, clearing away plants, logs, and other debris and design and construct a hatchery. I'll also build environmentally friendly containment units for the baby turtles. At night, I'll patrol the beach for turtle nests in an effort to preserve the turtles.

This time, I'll undertake more physically taxing challenges that will push myself to persevere. Although I know that I'm in for days of working long hours in the hot sun, moving debris off the beach, I'm still excited. Similarly, I'm showing perseverance and commitment to the protection of endangered species, first the pandas last summer, and the turtles this upcoming summer. The protection of the turtles is a matter of global importance, as they are an endangered species. My actions may (whether large or small) help the turtles, and I"ll do anything I can to help the turtles even in the littlest way. Finally, I will be working collaboratively with others (two others so far) in physical labor.

I'm looking forward to the summer!

Relay for Life: Cont.

On the 23rd, I helped my friend Jayna with her Relay for Life bakesale.

Previously, I had discussed with her my own shortcomings with my own Relay for Life bakesale, which failed to launch successfully at DCDS. She mentioned that her own Relay team wanted to host a bakesale and as the only member of her team that attended DCDS, she wondered if I could help her, which I eagerly agreed to.

The bakesale sold yummy treats like muffins, homemade cookies, brownies, and donuts. Overall, we made nearly $275, all which went towards cancer.

As mentioned previously, I'm glad that my efforts can help fight the global issue of cancer, and that the money that I helped raised would go toward the American Cancer Society.

This bakesale not only allowed me to work collaboratively with my friend Jayna, but also allowed me to plan and initiate a project, which I hope will help later as I try to establish my own bakesale to raise money to send books to children.

Relay for Life: The End

This morning, I just got back from my first Relay for Life! Starting at 10:00 AM on Saturday, Relay for Life was a 24-hour event which took place at Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, in which Relay teams got together and celebrated, remembered, and fought back against cancer.

Our team had a bake sale, selling home-made brownies and cookies. We previously had had the idea of selling chocolate covered strawberries (hence the team name: Strawberry Avalanche) but due to a previous experience with bake sales and chocolate melting, we decided to go simpler. Everyone on the team helped contribute to this event, whether it was food for our dinner or baked goods to sell. This collaborative work helped make our team, in my opinion, a success.

However, I must admit, that going "simpler" was not a good idea. Nearly every other booth in the Relay for Life event was also selling baked goods, often more decorated and better-looking than ours. We ended making around $28, a measly sum compared to the amount generated by more experienced teams. This had been nearly everyone on our team's first time at Relay, and thus, we did not know what to expect. Next year, we'll now know to stay away from bake sales and sell other goods to raise money for cancer.

During the event, we always had one person walking the "track", a carpeted lane where members of teams were supposed to walk for cancer. While walking, we would discuss everything from school work to plans for spring break, a chance for me to catch up with my friends which I hardly saw. This light-hearted activity was not only fun, but also gave meaning as I saw the paperbags labeled with names of loved ones, who had fought or were fighting cancer.

On a less light-hearted note, a special event during Relay for Life was the Luminaria ceremony, in which we all gathered to hear the story of a Survivor, who had fought off a rare form of cancer, and will be soon celebrating her 1-year after the surgery. We also heard from Aaron Martinez, who shared the story of his grandmother who passed away from cancer and of his mother, who had cancer, but won the fight. Afterwards, everyone, in the dim light, walked around the track, some crying, others holding hands and comforting.

This gave a whole new meaning to Relay for Life. In participating in Relay for Life, I was helping the fight against cancer, which affects everyone around the world. Every dollar I raised went towards cancer research, helping develop new techniques to fight the deadly disease. In total, the Relay for Life event made nearly $46,000, which all went towards cancer research. The ethical implications of my simple actions of helping raise money for Relay for Life may help effect somebody's life, saving families from falling apart and helping everyone celebrate more birthdays.

Relay for Life: There is no finish line until we find a cure.

Some Food for Thought

An idea is starting to grow.

After Camille and I talked, we decided to call our project (which I mentioned in my previous blog post) "Food for Thought".

I brought my idea up at an IB meeting, and some people seemed eager to join my project :).

Although "Food for Thought" would certainty fulfill my CAS requirements to plan and initiate activities and also work collaboratively with others, I feel that this project goes deeper than that.

Many children in Africa lack the proper facilities for an education, much less funds for educative material. Through our simple raising of money to buy books for children, I am slowly engaging the minds of children by simply giving them a book, fighting the global issue of illiteracy. Thus, when I'm going through with this project, I must keep in consideration the ethical implications of my actions, and not simply view this as another checkmark on my way to the IB diploma.

Good News, Bad News.

Two things to address.

Bad news: unfortunately, Mrs. Keeler said no to my plan to raise money for Relay for Life through a bake sale at school. I'll help organize the can drive which our team will have soon.

Good news: last year, I had this idea of somehow sending books somewhere as my Mother works at Gale, a book company, and last year, they had some fairly good deals on books (25 cents or something for a children's book). Camille, my friend, overheard my idea and suggested that we send the books through her pastor, who regularly visits Africa to volunteer. Perhaps, I'll think of organizing another bake sale :)

I'm asking my mother for quotes on books, and me and Camille will continue from there.

That's it for now, I'll update on the books for Africa as soon as possible.

Relay: An Update

After the last post, I had talked to Meng Meng, the leader of our team, and asked if she wanted me to make a logo for our team, as art is one of my strengths. Therefore, nearly an hour after getting the okay from Meng Meng, I created this:

I'm really excited that my art skills could be put to use in creating a team logo. I am also in charge of creating the shirts for our team, which we will either:

1) Order from an online source

-or, if it's too expensive-

2) Make the shirt ourselves by buying a generic shirt from Kohls or Target and ironing on the details.

Also! (Exciting News), we've set a date for our bottle drive. Thanks to the advice of Mr. D Wilson, we've decided to first hand out flyers on February 20th or 21st, and then have the bottle drive on March 6th.

We're also planning on asking Olga's Kitchen to sponsor our team. Hopefully, (if all works well), one night, some percentage of the night's earnings at Olga's will go towards cancer research.

As the only student at Country Day of our team, I've also planned for a bake sale to raise funds for our team. Hopefully, (if okay'ed by Mrs. Langley) there will be a bake sale next Friday, selling goodies like cookies and (perhaps) Chocolate-covered strawberries (hence our team name). I've enlisted Eric Gruskin (a fellow IB-er) and hope for more support to help fully execute a successful bake sale next Friday.

Through this preparation for Relay for Life, I've gained such skills as planning. Previously, I've always depended on others for leadership. However, (as I've stated before) as the only member attending a different school, I must rely on my own leadership capabilities to successfully plan my goals for Relay for Life.

Relay for Life: A Start

Several weeks ago, my friend Meng Meng called me and asked me about joining her team for Relay for Life. I quickly agreed, excited for this opportunity. Relay for Life, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, is a volunteer-driven cancer fundraising event which takes place in over 21 different countries, all raising money for the fight against cancer.

Sadly, due to the necessity of studying for Midyears, I couldn't go to the first meeting, scheduled last Monday, and yet I'm excited for our next one.

From what I've heard so far, our team, Strawberry Avalanche, will be hosting a bottle drive, probably collecting cans from neighbors, and making chocolate covered strawberries to sell at the event. With these ideas in place, I've also considered perhaps holding a bottle drive or food-sale at Detroit Country Day in order to raise some money. I'll of course have caucus with Meng Meng about that idea (as I am the only team member attending Country Day).

To successfully undertake and implement our ideas for Relay for Life, will require much teamwork from everybody in our team. Personally, I recognize that I naturally tend to take all the work onto myself and lead discussions. However, as Meng Meng is the team leader, I must allow her to act and be the part of the leader. In this way, I can become part of the team, rather than holding the team back by taking a position that is not mine.

Similarly, I must recognize the global importance of my teams actions. Not only are we taking time out of each of our busy schedules to organize and implement a successful fund raiser, but the impact that results from our work is huge. Millions of people are suffering from cancer, and our team will help raise funds for further research into possible treatments for cancer. Ethically, my relatively small actions of fund raising have an enormous impact on people's lives.

I just got my Relay for Life packet today from my friend Hannah. I'm looking forward to March 27th... the date for Relay for Life :)

I'll keep you updated on my progress.