beginning my year of public service

unedited thoughts - I just completed my Americorps Pre-Service Orientation in Dallas, Texas and it got me fired up. Although I received a pretty good on-boarding at 826CHI, it was great to have almost a whole week focused on reflecting and articulating my goals for this year.

A list of what I enjoyed and why:
1) Diversity.
This group was 200+ bodies strong coming from Puerto Rico to Alaska from Washington D.C. to rural Kentucky with ages spanning as young as 19 to mid-60s and nearly every race represented.

2) Listen to listen, and don't listen to respond.
Although the training sessions were rather long, everyone participated in discussions and freely shared personal experiences and their relationship to poverty. It felt good simply to listen to people's stories. And when exchanges got too serious, nobody was afraid to crack a joke.

3) Network.
You were constantly meeting new people at meals, training sessions, or even at the hotel bar, so it forced me to get out of my comfort zone and introduce myself. I truly met a few folks I want to stay in touch with and hope we have the opportunity to meet again.

4) Have Fun
Although the state of poverty in the U.S., and the mission to eliminate it, seems insurmountable, we were constantly reminded never to forget to have fun.

Stray observations:
A couple of firsts. First time visiting Texas & eating In-N-Out.



Drowning my sorrows from Super Tuesday with The Socialist.



Weather was mid-70s all week.