Taylor Schmitt, Boys and Girls Club

Hello!

This semester, I will select a new person once a week to post their journal entry, or part of the entry on the blog. Each time I do that, I WILL be asking for the writers permission about what I post and you have the right to say no if you do not want something displayed. Every time an entry is posted, I will email you all to go to the blog and then you have a week or so to respond or ask a question. If you are the person who happens to have their journal up that particular week, you are also responsible for posting answers to questions asked. I hope this will open lines of communications even just a tiny bit between you all.

This is Taylor's journal entry. Please read it, respond or ask Taylor a question. I would like you all to be actively involved in each others experiences. I know that's hard to achieve, but lets attempt to at least interact on the blog.

Well, seeing that this is the second semester I’ll have been serving at the Boys and Girls club of Abilene, I found myself noticing aspects of my service that I had previously failed to see. The most exciting thing to notice was the relationships between the kids and how I saw them developing, both as a response to time and through their interactions with me. The three kids I find myself getting to know the best are the following three: Hunter, a too-cool-for-school fourth grader who enjoys playing video games; Carlos, the Hispanic boy with glasses who told me that there’s no such thing as “nerdy;” and Patricia, a young African-American girl from New Orleans who regularly wears a pair of scrubs. Having been introduced to each of these individuals in a somewhat random and unexpected conversation last semester, I found myself indescribably pleased when I witnessed the three former acquaintances all getting along while taking turns playing Ping Pong. In the past, I never saw the three together, and although I was in no way the primary catalyst of any change, I thought it was thrilling to watch these three kids begin to develop a deeper friendship.
Another exciting thing to witness is my own relationship with fellow workers developing as I continue to volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club. Zach, the director at this particular club, has always been friendly and cordial and knew my name immediately. Other workers, though, took some time to warm up to me. Mallory Watson, a friend who worked with me their last semester, introduced me to nearly all of the other student workers and volunteers, and now I find myself helping other workers with their closing duties and playing with them and the kids they’ve gotten to know as well. I guess the point I’m attempting to make in this particular journal concerns the necessity of community. As time has gone on, I’ve seen relationships forming amongst the children with whom I interact with and between myself and new kids each time. I also have gotten to know other staff members better and see an increasing spirit of support developing, at least where I’m concerned. As time meets spirits engaged in helping others, the spirit of the Lord ensures a community that fosters and grows.

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