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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Soo I have been lazy and skipped clogging for a couple of days. Hopefully I didn't let anyone down :)
The last time I blogged I was in Greensboro, NC. Such a beautiful city! A shout out to the Gatlinburg Methodist church for providing us with a wonderful dinner and a place to stay.
At this point in the trip, everyone is forming bonds with one another. What's so amazing about this, is that it only took four days. Four days to completely open up to a stranger and form a relationship with them. It's amazing what friendships you can form in such a little amount of time.
We headed over to a warehouse (not sure what the name was :/ ) to help them organize all the products they receive and then re-sell, at extremely low prices, to those in need. It was such a neat experience!
Then we were off to Virginia Beach. We ate our last group supper at TGI Fridays and then headed to the beach for some pictures. Ahh it was great to be back on the boardwalk, recognizing certain places from my previous visit there. So many good memories :)
Today we went to a family crisis shelter where parents can come when in need of a place to stay. They offer them a room, stipend, job training, and help with finding a job and/or an apartment. It was a really neat place. Our job was to first scrap the old paint off and then re-paint the railings along the staircases. It was quite a mess. There was about five metal scrappers to use among the 45 of us. Which I must add--the first floor had them for the whole time. So ya I scrapped paint off with my NAILS for two hours. Yes, you better be jealous. Needless to say we didn't even begin to paint the railings.
So right now I am in the wonderful city of Washington D.C. Ahh how pretty the city is. We had quite an eventful arrival. As we were sitting in what I thought was traffic, we saw about four cop cars zoom past us. As we got closer, we saw that they had a white van pulled over and three guys arrested. So if you are my friend on FB, you will be able to see the lovely pictures I took of them :)
We arrived early so we spent time sight seeing. During this time I was able to see the Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Memorial, and of course, the White House. Tomorrow I am for sure hitting up the holocaust museum and doing a little shopping.
Right now there are about 300 students, from mostly the midwest, staying at the Hilton. So the building is a little crazy! Tomorrow all 300 of us will be cleaning the river, which has been named as the dirtiest river in thee US. So it should be interesting!
Well I am thinking it is time for bed now. Night everyone!
The last time I blogged I was in Greensboro, NC. Such a beautiful city! A shout out to the Gatlinburg Methodist church for providing us with a wonderful dinner and a place to stay.
At this point in the trip, everyone is forming bonds with one another. What's so amazing about this, is that it only took four days. Four days to completely open up to a stranger and form a relationship with them. It's amazing what friendships you can form in such a little amount of time.
We headed over to a warehouse (not sure what the name was :/ ) to help them organize all the products they receive and then re-sell, at extremely low prices, to those in need. It was such a neat experience!
Then we were off to Virginia Beach. We ate our last group supper at TGI Fridays and then headed to the beach for some pictures. Ahh it was great to be back on the boardwalk, recognizing certain places from my previous visit there. So many good memories :)
Today we went to a family crisis shelter where parents can come when in need of a place to stay. They offer them a room, stipend, job training, and help with finding a job and/or an apartment. It was a really neat place. Our job was to first scrap the old paint off and then re-paint the railings along the staircases. It was quite a mess. There was about five metal scrappers to use among the 45 of us. Which I must add--the first floor had them for the whole time. So ya I scrapped paint off with my NAILS for two hours. Yes, you better be jealous. Needless to say we didn't even begin to paint the railings.
So right now I am in the wonderful city of Washington D.C. Ahh how pretty the city is. We had quite an eventful arrival. As we were sitting in what I thought was traffic, we saw about four cop cars zoom past us. As we got closer, we saw that they had a white van pulled over and three guys arrested. So if you are my friend on FB, you will be able to see the lovely pictures I took of them :)
We arrived early so we spent time sight seeing. During this time I was able to see the Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Memorial, and of course, the White House. Tomorrow I am for sure hitting up the holocaust museum and doing a little shopping.
Right now there are about 300 students, from mostly the midwest, staying at the Hilton. So the building is a little crazy! Tomorrow all 300 of us will be cleaning the river, which has been named as the dirtiest river in thee US. So it should be interesting!
Well I am thinking it is time for bed now. Night everyone!
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Well another awesome day in Milan. We woke up early to head to the local church where they served us with a yummy breakfast. Afterwards we attended mass and then were off to the nursing home. It was such a heartwarming experience.
Gretchen, a resident at the home, told me to give President Obama a kiss when I get to Washington for her. Elaine was rambling on and on about her boyfriend who was all the way in New Jersey. But my favorite, was couple from Ohio I had meet. They were living replicas of Ali and Noah from The Notebook. As the residents were gathering in the room, I had the chance to hear their story. They had meet during their college years at Ohio State where they fell in love. He became a math teacher while she became a english teacher. I am not quite sure how she got put into the home, but it was evident that she wasn't all there. But that didn't matter to him. As they held hands, he made sure that she was singing along with the rest of the group. She was having such a good time and he made sure to document it by taking her picture on his cell phone. At this point I lost it, tears running down my face.I had experienced first hand what true love looks like. It was quite the overwhelming experience for me.
After the nursing home, we were off to Tennessee. I have found a new love for this state. We had stopped in Knoxville to grab something to eat. A group of us decided to go to an Indian restaurant which served some pretty darn good food. Then off we were, on our way to Pigeon Forge. With a little side adventure, we finally found our way to Camp Smokey.
After getting settled in, we were to meet in the dining hall. Once we got there, we were informed that we were playing the yarn game. For those of you that do not know what that game entails, it is where one person shares a story of a struggle and then passes the yarn onto another and then they tell their story and so on. In the end you have a yarn cobweb which represents how we are all connected.
I'm not gonna lie, this was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I had to tell these complete strangers, something that is very personal to me, that I hardly talk about with those closest to me.
I know I wasn't the only one that felt this way. But I did it, along with the 40 others on this tour.
I was in awe listening to everyones story. And I thought I had it bad? I can't even compare to some of these people. My life has been so blessed. Yes, I have had my ups and I have definitely had my downs but it could have been a lot worse then it was. I am so thankful to everyone on this trip that shared their story. It truly shows how strong each and everyone of you are. It was a real eye opener for me.
That activity lasted til about two in the morning, so running on about four hours of sleep I cleaned the ditches along the Gatlinburg National Park. I discovered a new pet peeve: to those of you who smoke, I have no problem with you smoking, but I beg you to not throw your butts out while driving. One simple act such as that could have a HUGE impact on the environment! I learned that first hand today.
Well right now it's getting late and I am laying on a hard floor of a church in n
North Carolina, so I should probably get to bed. Night y'all :)
Gretchen, a resident at the home, told me to give President Obama a kiss when I get to Washington for her. Elaine was rambling on and on about her boyfriend who was all the way in New Jersey. But my favorite, was couple from Ohio I had meet. They were living replicas of Ali and Noah from The Notebook. As the residents were gathering in the room, I had the chance to hear their story. They had meet during their college years at Ohio State where they fell in love. He became a math teacher while she became a english teacher. I am not quite sure how she got put into the home, but it was evident that she wasn't all there. But that didn't matter to him. As they held hands, he made sure that she was singing along with the rest of the group. She was having such a good time and he made sure to document it by taking her picture on his cell phone. At this point I lost it, tears running down my face.I had experienced first hand what true love looks like. It was quite the overwhelming experience for me.
After the nursing home, we were off to Tennessee. I have found a new love for this state. We had stopped in Knoxville to grab something to eat. A group of us decided to go to an Indian restaurant which served some pretty darn good food. Then off we were, on our way to Pigeon Forge. With a little side adventure, we finally found our way to Camp Smokey.
After getting settled in, we were to meet in the dining hall. Once we got there, we were informed that we were playing the yarn game. For those of you that do not know what that game entails, it is where one person shares a story of a struggle and then passes the yarn onto another and then they tell their story and so on. In the end you have a yarn cobweb which represents how we are all connected.
I'm not gonna lie, this was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I had to tell these complete strangers, something that is very personal to me, that I hardly talk about with those closest to me.
I know I wasn't the only one that felt this way. But I did it, along with the 40 others on this tour.
I was in awe listening to everyones story. And I thought I had it bad? I can't even compare to some of these people. My life has been so blessed. Yes, I have had my ups and I have definitely had my downs but it could have been a lot worse then it was. I am so thankful to everyone on this trip that shared their story. It truly shows how strong each and everyone of you are. It was a real eye opener for me.
That activity lasted til about two in the morning, so running on about four hours of sleep I cleaned the ditches along the Gatlinburg National Park. I discovered a new pet peeve: to those of you who smoke, I have no problem with you smoking, but I beg you to not throw your butts out while driving. One simple act such as that could have a HUGE impact on the environment! I learned that first hand today.
Well right now it's getting late and I am laying on a hard floor of a church in n
North Carolina, so I should probably get to bed. Night y'all :)
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Sunday, March 13, 2011
Well what a day. So we were up in the wee hours of the morning to head to the Mercy House, which is a non-profit that houses children that are in crisis. We had breakfast there and then headed downtown to sell their Patrick day buttons to the public. It was quite the experience. We got to see them turn the river green (didn't know you could do that), sight see the city, and of course eat their famous chicago style pizza! We left around noon to head to Milan, IN and arrived around 7. So another long bus ride.
Now where to start with Milan? I have soo many nice things to say about this little town. We were welcomed with big smiles, countless hugs, signs saying 'Welcome STLF!', and a yummy home cooked meal all thanks to the local church members and the youth group.
After supper we had to number off and then a select few of us were chosen to come to the front. Lucky me, my number was chosen. We were then lined up and handed random objects such as a shopping bag, bunny ears, a dragon fly and were asked how we would incorporate these objects to saving ourself if something went terribly wrong on the bus ride. We sure got the creative juices a flowing. I was handed a strawberry that magically turns into a reusable grocery bag, so my story was that the bus drove off a cliff and I would use it as a parachute. The few selected were awarded with either a blanket or a sweater that has 'STLF Milan, IN 2011' embroidered on it. We then boarded the bus to take a tour of their museum and learned a little bit about their long history of basketball.
Words cannot describe how overwhelmed I am through the kindness this little town has shown us in the time we have been here. I have never felt so welcomed in my whole life. Tomorrow they have invited us back to the church for breakfast and mass. We then will be heading over to the Milan nursing home to spend time with the residents there. For those who know me well, you know the love I share for the elderly, so I am beyond excited to go!
Though it is only the second day of the trip, it has been quite an emotional one. We got to the gym, where we are staying for the night, when we are asked to sit in a circle while the lights were dimmed with soft music playing in the background. It wasn't til this moment when I figured out why they wanted my mothers e-mail. STLF contacted our loved ones and asked them to write a little paragraph about how proud they are of us. Ohh and the tears started flowing. Tonight brought up a lot of memories that I tend not to think about on a daily basis.
Soo ya that's my day in a nutshell.
Ohh and shout out to my little brother Rylie who has quoted my leadership skills as bossy (but really it is another "b" word). Love you too little brother :)
Now where to start with Milan? I have soo many nice things to say about this little town. We were welcomed with big smiles, countless hugs, signs saying 'Welcome STLF!', and a yummy home cooked meal all thanks to the local church members and the youth group.
After supper we had to number off and then a select few of us were chosen to come to the front. Lucky me, my number was chosen. We were then lined up and handed random objects such as a shopping bag, bunny ears, a dragon fly and were asked how we would incorporate these objects to saving ourself if something went terribly wrong on the bus ride. We sure got the creative juices a flowing. I was handed a strawberry that magically turns into a reusable grocery bag, so my story was that the bus drove off a cliff and I would use it as a parachute. The few selected were awarded with either a blanket or a sweater that has 'STLF Milan, IN 2011' embroidered on it. We then boarded the bus to take a tour of their museum and learned a little bit about their long history of basketball.
Words cannot describe how overwhelmed I am through the kindness this little town has shown us in the time we have been here. I have never felt so welcomed in my whole life. Tomorrow they have invited us back to the church for breakfast and mass. We then will be heading over to the Milan nursing home to spend time with the residents there. For those who know me well, you know the love I share for the elderly, so I am beyond excited to go!
Though it is only the second day of the trip, it has been quite an emotional one. We got to the gym, where we are staying for the night, when we are asked to sit in a circle while the lights were dimmed with soft music playing in the background. It wasn't til this moment when I figured out why they wanted my mothers e-mail. STLF contacted our loved ones and asked them to write a little paragraph about how proud they are of us. Ohh and the tears started flowing. Tonight brought up a lot of memories that I tend not to think about on a daily basis.
Soo ya that's my day in a nutshell.
Ohh and shout out to my little brother Rylie who has quoted my leadership skills as bossy (but really it is another "b" word). Love you too little brother :)
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Hey everyone! So just got done with the first day of my trip. Pretty much spent the day on the bus traveling from Minneapolis to Chicago. Quite the long trip. Shout out to Trinity Lutheran church for letting us crash in their basement for the night. Tomorrow we have to be up at 7 to help campaign for a local children's organization in the Chicago St. Patrick's day parade :) Afterwards we get to do a little sight seeing and then off to Indiana I go!
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Thursday, March 10, 2011
I AM DONE WITH MID-TERMS! LESS THEN 24 HOURS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR THE PAY IT FORWARD TOUR! Can you tell I'm excited?
I was really stressed out about mid-terms this week. Since I'm leaving tomorrow at 10, all of my finals were pushed to today--not fun! But they are over with and now all I have to worry about is packing for my trip! Going to spend my night shopping, packing, cleaning, and spending time with my friends :) Gonna be a good night.
I was really stressed out about mid-terms this week. Since I'm leaving tomorrow at 10, all of my finals were pushed to today--not fun! But they are over with and now all I have to worry about is packing for my trip! Going to spend my night shopping, packing, cleaning, and spending time with my friends :) Gonna be a good night.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Hey Everyone!
Just a little introduction about myself, I'm Sadie. I'm a sophomore at the University of Minnesota majoring in professional strategic communications (PR). I'm your typical 20 year old, ya know?
Soooo I'm starting this blog for one of my classes. It might be a little rough at first so hang in there! :) I plan on blogging about my upcoming Pay It Forward tour to Washington, D.C (woot woot!) and other 'do good' experiences that come up. It wasn't until this past year that I realized how passionate I am about giving back. I have been blessed with so many things in life, a loving family, a college education, a place to call home, food to eat, clothes on my back, that the least I could do is give back to someone who is less fortunate.
I would speculate that some of you may be wondering what the heck a Pay It Forward (PIF) tour is. Well a PIF tour is a community service road trip that travels from city to city doing different service projects. The tours are put on by the non-profit organization, Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF). Fun tidbit: STLF was found by a couple of U of M students. How cool is that? I can proudly say that I am partaking in a tour over spring break. I will be traveling to Chicago, IL, Milan, IN, Pigeon Forge, TN, Greensboro NC, Virginia Beach, VA, and Washington, DC. Goodbye Minnesota, hello East Coast! There was a group meeting tonight that has made me beyond excited to go!
Here's a quote I would like to share with ya'll:
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
-Pericles
Night everyone!
Just a little introduction about myself, I'm Sadie. I'm a sophomore at the University of Minnesota majoring in professional strategic communications (PR). I'm your typical 20 year old, ya know?
Soooo I'm starting this blog for one of my classes. It might be a little rough at first so hang in there! :) I plan on blogging about my upcoming Pay It Forward tour to Washington, D.C (woot woot!) and other 'do good' experiences that come up. It wasn't until this past year that I realized how passionate I am about giving back. I have been blessed with so many things in life, a loving family, a college education, a place to call home, food to eat, clothes on my back, that the least I could do is give back to someone who is less fortunate.
I would speculate that some of you may be wondering what the heck a Pay It Forward (PIF) tour is. Well a PIF tour is a community service road trip that travels from city to city doing different service projects. The tours are put on by the non-profit organization, Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF). Fun tidbit: STLF was found by a couple of U of M students. How cool is that? I can proudly say that I am partaking in a tour over spring break. I will be traveling to Chicago, IL, Milan, IN, Pigeon Forge, TN, Greensboro NC, Virginia Beach, VA, and Washington, DC. Goodbye Minnesota, hello East Coast! There was a group meeting tonight that has made me beyond excited to go!
Here's a quote I would like to share with ya'll:
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
-Pericles
Night everyone!
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