YMCA Workshop
Again, in another instance where my cracked up schedule creates just another nuicance, I had to accept the fact that I would be late to my Finnish class if I wanted to take this workshop before April. Don't get me wrong, I'm not normally so cynical, but honestly...would I be in this class if I hadn't a clue about what community service and volunteering meant? I felt that we were treated like we were in elementary school (not exactly the most inspiring of circumstances) but I'm afraid I lack any quoted evidence. It was just a gut feeling. I hate gut feelings. I hate reflecting on things. Give me a source, good publishing information, and extra ink and you'll have a happy Tash. Anyway. I get to the third floor, sit down in the circle of chairs and wrote my name on the tag wondering if this was going to be some innocents' version of AA. Hi... I'm Jessica... Hi Jessica, etc. Ugh. It was. There was this particularly disturbing exercise where we had to turn to eachother and write down our prejudices of the other person (haven't we had that beaten out of us yet?) then -tell him or her- what we'd judged about him or her. I'd struggled to find what to think about her. She was this normal looking girl. Good fashion sense. Obviously smart cuz she was obviously a college student. Motivated (what slacker picks this class?) caring, blah blah blah. It was totally awkward. Then we had to go stand under these signs with things like "voting" and "planting a garden" first under which one you thought was the most important, and second, which one you thought was pointless (or least important to be politically correct) I stood under voting first, because I honestly think that the only real changes can come from the law making bodies, either from school boards or the US Congress, because, let me use my school as an example. My tiny town school was so poor we could barely afford to heat the building sufficiently. The only electives we were offered were Band Choir Orchestra Art or Shop. Spanish was the only language. School sports had to fund themselves. Only one AP course was offered. Why were we so poor? Because the state legislature had passed a law when I was in middle school diverting state funds from schools and particularly small towns. Thus, the local legislatures were forced to pick up the slack and as a result, our poor, windling community was unable to foot the bill. There is only so much money fruit sales and car washes can make up, and programs suffered. Finally, my senior year, thanks to a massive volunteer effort by school moms and the board, our town passed a referendum raising taxes to fund our school. Bam. The law was passed. The kids will no longer have to wear their coats to study hall. Heck, there wont have to be a study hall to occupy the unmusical, inartistic, klumsy with hammers people. German is offered now. There's talk of starting an AP chem class in addition to bio.