When I Grow Up

When I was in preschool, I told my mom that when I grew up, I wanted to be a teacher. Fast forward to 2014... Today, that dream has come a huge leap towards turning into a reality. Today I was accepted into the Special Education Program at Western Michigan University. I cannot be more grateful and excited for this new adventure. I will be in school for three more years (I'll graduate in April 2017) (our last year of the program is a full year of student teaching, one semester of special education student teaching and one semester of elementary education student teaching). I have dreamed about the day I would (hopefully) become accepted to the program since I was in high school. I have worked so hard to get to this point. I have never been more ready and confident to begin this next chapter of my life/college years.

One Week Later

Here I am; one week after alternative spring break, with mountains of homework; and five and a half weeks left of the semester (but whose counting?). I have talked about the trip with multiple friends; five of my friends were apart of other alternative spring break trips. 

I'm still in amazement how resilient the Oklahoma community is. I wish there is more we could do. 

Not a day has gone by where I don't think about our trip and the individuals we met. 

Each day I wish, I was back in Oklahoma; on the roof, repairing the damage.

My wish? To do further research on various repair efforts -- around the world. Something about being apart of life within a different community, is so powerful. 

Life Changing

Can't believe our week of "spring break" is over. It seems like just yesterday I was packing at 11:30pm to go to Oklahoma for alternative spring break. What a life changing week this has been; I have learned more than I ever imagined I would learn during this week, I have meet Oklahoma citizens who are some of the most amazing, resilient individuals one would ever meet, I had the opportunity to see firsthand what the tornado did to the community, and so much more.

Spending time getting to know Donna, her daughter, and her dog, -- the homeowner of the roof we worked on this week -- rebuilding her roof, hearing her powerful story; has 8 kids, and 8 grandchildren. She is beyond inspiring and amazing. 3 years ago she invited a man who was homeless into her house. He ended up beating her up, knocking her unconscious, she a majority of her teeth, and was in a coma. During the time she was in a coma, the man who was staying at her house, set it on fire. She hired a contractor to rebuild her home from the damage; the homeowner then needed to file contractor fraud. In May the tornado caused damage to her home, windows and doors knocked out, roofing damage etc... She hired a contractor to repair the damage; she then had to file contractor fraud again. Throughout this rough time, she attempted suicide multiple times. 

Two moments from our last day of service (Friday) stand out to me the most: 1) We had a gift card to use to buy something for our homeowner -- as a way to say thank you for letting us be in her yard and house all week -- all week she was saying how she wanted to build a dog house for her dog Jane. We decided it was only fitting to use this gift card to buy her a doghouse. Seeing her tear up with excitement when we presented it to her was heartwarming! 2) As we were getting ready to leave her house she gave us the most inspiring speech "My heart has been open and you are good people. You brought together so much happiness." We all had tears in our eyes. She has impacted us more than she will ever know.

I am so thankful for this experience and opportunity. So glad that MSU, GVSU, WMU, and Temple could all come together as The Oklahomies 2014! I can't thank our staff: Adina, Samantha, Dirk, Trisha, Ben, Jimmy and Larry enough for all they did for us this week. Thanks for trusting us to go on roofs, use the nail gun, staple hammer etc. 

I can't wait to see what we all do with what we have gained this week. We are changing the world. Until we meet again...



I have so much more to write about. Once I get all the pictures together I will be posting more about my trip!

**The JDRC posted my reflection as a JDRC blogpost; here.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Since I have a handful of photos from the trip, I decided for tonight, I was just going to do a photo dump of sorts. Tomorrow, I will write more about the trip. 

Old shingles off, putting the new shingles on!

"Thank you to all volunteers, medical, military, search & recovery"

"Took our home -- not our heart"

Fact sheet from the JDRC

All this land, used to be houses...

This all used to be houses...direct path of the tornado...

Makeshift medical center

Be a fan of RESPECT

According to The ARC, “About 54 million Americans – one out of every five individuals – have a disability. Their contributions enrich our communities and society as they live, work and share their lives.” Do you think about the power your words have? Hopefully you will after today.

In 2005, when I was in sixth grade I started volunteering over 4 hours a week in my middle school through our LINKS program; as well with an organization called Friendship Circle. Through LINKS I was paired with another sixth grader, who is Autistic. We would sit together at lunch, talk about movies coming to theaters, his dog, his favorite world record books and football. Together we would work on his social skills, in the lunchroom, when he was without his one-on-one shadow for the half hour. LINKS allowed him to be amongst his peers in a familiar environment. "Friendship Circle is a non profit organization that provides programs and support to the families of individuals with special needs. In addition to assisting individuals with special needs, the Friendship Circle enriches its vast network of volunteers by enabling them to reap the rewards of selfless giving." 

Going on my ninth year with volunteering through Friendship Circle and my rewarding time with kids and adults with "special powers", I have dedicated over 1,000 hours of my time to volunteer for various programs and events. Though being involved with Friendship Circle, I learned about their campaign; Defeat the Label. "Defeat The Label is an anti-bullying movement that works to promote an inclusive, judgment-free society, void of social labels and stereotypes; a society where all people are recognized not for their physical form, but for the superior, equal and worthy soul within."

Though Defeat the Label I got the opportunity to go on one of the local radio stations back at home, and talk about bullying, inclusivity, and the campaign itself; encouraging listeners to “Defeat the Label.”

Ellen Seidman author of the blog “LoveThat Max,” writes about her family, and her son Max, who has Cerebral Palsy. Just a few months ago, on November 5^th she wrote the following as apart of one of her blog posts: "If you're not sure what's wrong with the word "retarded," I'll sum it up: For decades, "mental retardation" was a medical diagnosis for people with cognitive impairment. But as "retard" and "retarded" became slang for "stupid" and "loser," medical experts and nonprofits started using "intellectual disability" instead. The government has since removed the term from federal health, labor and education laws, and the majority of the states have passed similar legislation.” 

Two years ago, Lady Gaga used the R-word. When asking whether she plagiarized her song “Born this Way” from Madonna’s “Express Yourself,” she responded with, “Why would I try to put out a song and think I’m getting one over on everybody? That’s retarded.” Shortly afterwards Lady Gaga issued an apology in a statement she provided to PerezHilton.com! Her statement said, “My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully. To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentional.”

Just last year I was listening to a different radio station back from home when I heard the shows' producer say "I'm not retarded". I was extremely shocked and upset to hear that my favorite radio station would use the “r-word.” I wrote an email to the station explaining why the word is offensive and kindly requesting them not to use this word. Much to my surprise I received a positive response email and apology. 

Individuals who have special needs are kind, helpful and fun just like you and I. They don’t deserve to be labeled as emphasized in this video. 

The campaign Spread the Word to End the Word is a growing movement. I have taken the pledge along with 459,119 other people: I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. The campaign "asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people.  Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions.  Pledge today to use respectful, people-first language."

What is People-first language? Well people-first language is an inclusive way of thinking and acknowledgement. People-first language shows that first you acknowledge the individual; putting the difference second.

A few weeks ago in the Huffington post, written by Jamie Davis Smith, she wrote an article called: 5 Things You Should Know About Families Dealing with Disability. When this article was posted by one of my friends on Facebook, it caught my eye. One of the first things that I saw was: “We really, really dislike the word retarded. Please stop using it. Now…. It is hurtful….” As I continued reading the author went on to say, “For those of us with loved ones with cognitive disabilities, the use of the r-word turns them into lesser beings not worthy of the same dignity and rights of those not struggling with the same difficulties.” Many times people don’t think about the meaning and all that is behind this word. Smith goes on to say, “…if we try to explain it to you please listen to why it is not okay to use the r-word…” As my shirt expresses, there are MANY alternative words to use. 

Shirt made by Alison Rowan

Do you think about the power your words have? I hope from reading this today, that it will encourage you to thank about and change the way you speak. If you could please be careful with your word choice next time it will be extremely beneficial to all. I challenge you that next time you hear someone say the r-word, that you will persuade him or her to change there vocabulary, just as I have done today. Let’s end the R-word. 

*I wrote this as apart of my public speaking course last semester. I edited it for my blog. 

Life Story

Our group removed the shingles
from the roof -- in order to put
new ones on.

Today was the first day we got to be on site -- at the houses. We split into two groups, two difference houses. The house I am at for the week, is owned by a women who has 8 kids, and 8 grandchildren. She is beyond inspiring and amazing. Her story goes as follows: 3 years ago -- invited a man who was homeless into her house. He ended up beating her up, knocking her unconscious, she a majority of her teeth, and was in a coma. During the time she was in a coma, the man who was staying at her house, set it on fire. She hired a contractor to rebuild her home from the damage; the homeowner then needed to file contractor fraud. In May the tornado caused damage to her home, windows and doors knocked out, roofing damage etc... She hired a contractor to repair the damage; she then had to file contractor fraud again. Throughout this rough time, she attempted suicide multiple times.

As I heard her story, I had to turn my head, so I wouldn't start crying. As much as she has gone through, she is so unbelievably strong. When the tornado occurred, she did a lot of community organizing; craft day for kids, community food event/meal.

It was hard to wrap our heads around the path she has been down throughout her life, but the strong positively, and passion for life that she spreads to all she meets.

The first step of rebuilding her roof was to take all the shingles off the roof. We worked as a team to get the shingles off and on to the ground. This process will take a few days to totally complete the full long roof.

--

After our day of service, we went to the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game! (They won!) As we were driving around looking for a parking spot, we noticed a lot that had open space. As we got closer to the lot we noticed that to park in the lot, a special parking pass was needed. As our van started to back out, the staff in the lot waved us in. They told us that they had an extra pass for tonight; and our trip didn't need to pay anything to park, in the lot, for the game. We were pleasantly surprised. Was is karma? Was is random? Was it meant to be? What ever is was, we were so thankful and appreciative!

"It's not about if, it's about when."

Because of the cold weather and ice, we didn't get to build today. Instead, we participated in ice breaker activities, heard from two speakers, took a walk around the area, had a few group discussions, and more. 

The day started with us leanring more about the Oklahoma Disaster Relief Project (ODRP). A project that is a collaboration of agencies, conducting disaster case management for individuals and families in need of long term recovery.

We found out that the twister in El Reno was 2.6 miles in width. (Manhatten is 2.3 miles wide at its widest point near 14th street.) Students from MSU pointed out that the MSU campus is about same size as the twister width.

The ODRP speaker, emphasized the resilience within the Oklahoma community; over the years, the community has experienced the dust bowl, natural disasters, and the Oklahoma bombing.

A majority of our team -- due to the weather, some people are stuck in Chicago/Colorado, but should be arriving soon.

 
Our second speaker was the superintendent of Moore Oklahoma schools; third largest school district in the state. As an aspiring teacher, I personally was intrigued by his session. He talked about the procedures and support in place within the district; adding in that "tornado alley" is always prepared and ready. "It's not about if, it's about when." Implying that it isn't about if another tornado will come through, it's about when the next tornado will hit.

In May when the tornado hit, an elementary school was destroyed. The school is currently being held in a church. In the elementary school that was hit,  560 students and 50 staff walked away.

The discussions and speaker sessions that took place throughout the day, really put life in perspective. Hearing the statics from individuals who have been affected by the tornado (in one way or another) was so powerful. It is very different that just hearing a news report.                  

In the next few days we will be roofing and decking for multiple houses. We are hoping the weather becomes a bit warmer so we are able to get out and help the community.

2000-3000 Homes Were Destroyed in the Tornado

After our connecting flights, and a very turbulent flight we arrived in Oklahoma. We were greated by a complete whiteout and temperatures that were 10* but felt like -9*.

Once we arrived where we are staying, we were able to settle in, meet others (we are with a group of students from Temple University), and relax; aka eat snacks. About an hour and a half later, we got to know everyone in our group (about 20 of us -- more coming tomorrow) and had a (pre-Oscars) pizza party. We were briefed on trip info and were told some Oklahoma information: 2000-3000 homes were destroyed in the tornado, 24 killed...7 students killed in an elementary school... Later this week we will get to see some of the sites where damage occurred and hear the stories of community individuals.

Bananagrams, snacks, rounds of Jewish geography and more, this week is off to an exciting start! Due to the weather they are changing our itinerary so we don't get frostbite on the first day of "spring break." (The University of Oklahoma is even closed on Monday!) Hopefully the snow/ice will let up a bit so we can start rebuilding the house(s). Tomorrow we will be hearing more about our time in Oklahoma and the work we will be doing.

I'm looking forward to a powerful week!

We're off to great places, Today is the day!

We're off to great places, Today is the day!

I have been waiting for this moment to arrive for months. I'm excited and ready to take on this week; meeting new people, rebuilding houses (that were affected by the tornado damage), experiencing a state I haven't been to before, and so much more!

It hadn't really hit me that the trip was here, until last night at 11:30pm; when I realized I was going to be on the plane in less than 12 hours...and wasn't packed.

Now I am sitting on the plane; anxious but ready for this adventure. This is the first alternative break trip for me; but something I have always dreamed about participating in.

This week I hope to gain: new friendships, new perspective, and new inspiration.

I hope to help the greater Oklahoma community. I hope to inspire others.

I'm hoping to be able to blog about the trip every day. I can't wait to share my adventure...

Our mountain is waiting, So...we are on our way!