Over the past four months each member in my group has set out to experience new things, volunteer at a new place and interact with new people. As a whole we have discussed and feel as though we have not really had a chance to grow as a group - via volunteering - since we all go at different times. We have, however, crossed some major milestones in living together and that in itself is HUGE!
Making adjustments no matter how big or small can be, simply put, a pain in the butt! As busy college students we all thrive on routine and moving in with a new group of girls - even knowing them prior - is anything but routine. We have definitely overcome the small things such as laundry schedules and maintaining a good volume level when others are studying and /or sleeping.As far as issues arising, the biggest one would have to be the cleaning schedule and maintaining open communication. As a group we have set together numerous times and expressed our feelings, thoughts, and ideas. We have always managed to come up on common ground and find a solution and that is such a great feeling!
Next semester we plan to do more volunteering and activities together instead of independently.
We plan to do the following:
*Volunteer in pairs - possibly even switching now and then to get everyone interacting more
*Organize a clothing drive for the CARE thrift store
*Organize a penny drive
We have so many ideas in the works and we have decided, after gaining a better understanding of what we are doing, that we can do more with our time and resources than what we did this past . It just took some time to really get comfortable and confident in what we were doing.
Individually I would say I have definitely stepped up my responsibility. I juggle three jobs and 20 credit hours here at Drury University and yet I still love the hour and a half a week I get to donate to CARE and spend with the animals. To do this I sacrifice my Friday mornings and DO NOT get to sleep in - for a college student to give up sleep willingly, they must really like what they are doing! I have made new friends and taken on new responsibilities. Most importantly, I am still working on visualizing the future and what I would like to do. My group and I have set goals for next semester and we are not even there yet. I feel as though sometimes it is hard to say just what you will do without being there in the moment. It is a pretty amazing feeling to set your mind to things - things that you do voluntarily - and watch yourself accomplish them.
The four of us have grown so much since August and I am looking forward to the next semester to begin. We may not be changing the world on a large scale but we are changing the lives of individual animals and other volunteers and making an impact that is HUGE to them and that is all we can really ask for. That is all we need to have job well done.
(Pictures are located in the picture section if you want to see what we have been up to with our little furry friends! Please check them out! )
Kay
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