Happy New Year 2014 to everyone!! Are you all ready to start this new year? I am! I can't wait to see my Gear Up kiddos and see what things are planned!!
So, I wanted to make two blogs last time but I lost time reminiscing and searching for pictures! Haha.. :) This is the second blog!
This blog is about time.. Yep. Giving time. I hadn't really given much thought to how much of my life's time has been spent on Gear Up and lately on my Gear Up kids.... Not that I'm complaining, I love Gear Up and everyone in my program.. and you all!
But I have had people that ask me "Why?".. Why do I spend my time with Gear Up kids? Why do I volunteer hours of my days and dedicate them to high school kids? Half of those kids don't care about school? The other half cares but don't need your help!.... I am a broke, in dept college student. Why would those kids ever even talk to me or why would they care if I'm around right?
WRONG.. Those people are wrong.
The Gear UP program IS about bringing college awareness and it IS about raising the bars on education and all that.. But there's MORE! And I know that all of you GUA's (Gear Up Alumni) have been there.. I know that you all know the reason why we fight for Gear Up..
THE KIDDOS!
I know it's kind of cheesy to say.. but I love my Gear Up kids.. I know that there is NO WAY I would have met them all if it hadn't been for Gear Up.. They are all so alike and yet so different! Each is passionate about something eager to learn, eager to grow! I have met so many incredible students and lots of them have actually changed my life.. Hard to believe right? Let me tell you why!
I remember that Johnny told us a story about his daughter and her wanting to go into the garbage business, do you remember? I'm not sure how it goes haha but he taught us that we need to encourage our kids in everything, ALWAYS! Johnny is so awesome! He is such an inspiration.. With his stories he taught me how to believe in my kids. He taught me how to be patient and listen to my kids, not only hear them. I listen to them now.
Before Johnny, I would always tell my kiddos "you need to go to college", or "You have to go to college", I never really gave them an opportunity to tell me what they had planned for themselves... I would concentrate all my energy in trying to get them to thinking about college and I would forget about giving them the chance to dream other dreams...
Thank you Johnny for helping me open my eyes...
Now, I get so much more out of Gear Up.. I get to feel what my students feel, we communicate so much more and I can now help them reach whatever goals they set for themselves!
Now, back to why spending my time? Some people believe that it's time wasted... I say it's time WELL wasted.. Have any of you ever seen the movie RENT?
If not, let me tell you about it, this will all have a point :) I promise!
This movie is a rock musical that tells the story of a group of individuals struggling to survive, to be successful to be someone, to live. The characters include a poet, a painter, a singer, a seamstress, a philosopher, a state councilor and a landlord.. Out of all of them, who do you all think is the one who ends up being successful in the end?.. Why?
It's such a powerful movie I can't even describe how many life lessons are in it.. There's a problem with the characters though.. If you chose the state councilor, note that she's gay. If you chose the musician, note that he's a percussionist who has AIDs.. If you chose the seamstress, note that she has ruberculosis, HIV and is an erotic dancer.. Who then, ends up being successful? Whose life had the most meaning? If one were to die, who would be the one least missed?
There's a song in that movie called "Seasons of Love". I recommend you all listen to it on youtube :)
Here are some of the lyrics,
"Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights,
In sunsets,
In midnights
In cups of coffee.
In inches,
in miles,
in laughter and strife.
In.. 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in a life?"
:) So, how do you measure your life? I measure my life in LOVE <3
I give hours and days of my time alive in this world in the hopes that I make a difference.. I have kids who will message me on days that they want to hurt themselves.. I have kids who will look for me when they have a problem.. I have kids who want me only because I want them back. Gear Up gives us an advantage! It allows us to meet kids or all sorts, sizes, shapes and colors!
I have had instances where kids will just message me random things because these are kids who get neglected at home, they get neglected in school, they get neglected by their friends.. Time is something precious in my eyes. It is a gift that we receive, why not share it with others?
When I was a Gear Up student, I would spend countless minutes in my coordinator's office.. We would talk about school and college and then there was days where I'd go in there and just mumble.
I remember one day I went into his office and started a conversation with him on how I thought ants have brains. I still do. Ants are brilliant, anyways.. Patrick was always there to listen.
I know he probably wishes he wasn't there half the time but I'm glad he was. He helped. Alot. Just having a person listen to me was great because no one else would.
We have been given the opportunity to help students, even by sitting down with them and listening to their theories on ants is help! I love what I do! I love hearing their drama and their dreams and even helping them through heartbreaks!
I think that every experience that a person has either helps them grow or pushes them down.. We can be that milk that helps them grow higher!
Lots of people don't realize how even a simple thing as a smile changes a person's day or life.
All of you fight for Gear Up because there was someone there in your life when you needed that glass of milk. There was a coordinator or a director or a teacher who opened their door for you, chased you down or smiled at you. :)
We have the chance to do that now! We have the chance to make an impact! Even if out of 100 kids, only 1 goes to college, you will all agree that the time was well wasted..
I love my life, I love the people in my life, I love the things I do and I try to cherish every hour I get :) I love spending time with my Gear Up kids. Every moment, every memory is a part of my life that I wouldn't trade anything for. The moment when you realize that you made a difference on even just one person's life is incredible. :)
So, if you ever have a person ask you why you volunteer, why you waste your time.. Tell them that you're a GUA! Tell them that you're a person that does have time for that! And tell them that it's TIME WELL WASTED!! :D
WE fight for GEAR UP because WE BELIEVE!!!
And how does the movie RENT end? It ends with everyone realizing that a person's life should be measured in LOVE.. Not the time spent asking why but in the time well wasted in doing it!
Every person is worth the time..
Signing out!
xoxoxo!
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