First Steps
So before I get into the first steps of what I did on the job I have to tell you a little about how I go here. I drove my car from North Carolina to Detroit,MI and some things I learned on the way were...
1)Virginia is not kidding about their speed limits, there were signs, and cops every where
2)West Virginia has a lot of construction, but here is the thing no one is actually working where it says there is construction
3)Ohio there are no cops and the Ohio turnpike is straight and boring but there is a Panera Bread company at one of the stops.
4)Michigan the drivers go a little crazy, and in Detroit it seems that people follow their own rules. However, as crazy as they are if a light is out they are the calmest drivers i've ever seen.
Oh yes but my story...so on the way to Detroit Michigan I accidentally made a little detour...to Canada. That is right CANADA. My GPS and I got into a minor argument because it was asking me to go on roads that were blocked with construction next thing I am going through what I think is a toll booth and in actuality is a payment to go into Canada. Before I realize what is going on I'm on the bridge unable to turn around. I get up to the guy with no passport and explain to him that I need to take the biggest U turn of my life. The guy a Canada giggled and let me through no big deal, the guy in the US gave me so much crap. Asked me if I had a gun about 11 times. No sir I do not but do you really think I would just say "Oh yes sir I do, would you like to confiscate it and arrest me?" Needless to say I paid $8 ($4 in and $4 out) to spend about 20minutes in Canada. I laughed throughout the whole thing and still think it is ridiculous.
Monday, September 12, 2011
We Work For Less
How it all started!
Not a lot of 20 something people would jump at the opportunity to dedicate their life to an organization for basically no money. In fact when I tell people that is what i'm doing I generally get a very puzzled look. However, on the flip side of that I also get the "your a saint" response. The fact is I did it for several reasons, 1) I didn't want to go to Grad school right away 2) I didn't want to find myself stuck a job that I didn't like and 3) I didn't really know what else to do. So here I am!
I have moved from North Carolina to Detroit, Michigan. I've been here for about a month and half. All I can say is it is like living in another world. No cities in NC even come close to the size that Detroit is. I also wanted to do this experience to see if I really loved North Carolina or if I was just staying inside my comfort zone...my bubble. Turns our I really do like North Carolina.
We Work for Less!
Now I named this We Work for Less because i'm a full time volunteer. Now i'm not making no money, I get a "big girl allowance" and an educational stipend at the end of my service to help chip away at my mountains of loans from school. My organization provides room and board so that is nice. If you really want the dollar per house amount with out calculating the cost of room and board I make about $4 a hour, so I'm not doing this for the money. So the point of this blog is to document my adventures through Detroit, Michigan and my experience as a full time volunteer. Oh, and the other thing that adds to this experience is that my organization is a residential program for youth, currently we have all teenagers. 8 to be exact, this is not to mention the community program that also has 8. So here I am 22 years old and i've dedicated a year of my life to trying my best to help 16 inner city kids take the steps to get into college, an opportunity that some of them didn't realize was possible until they got accepted into this program.
So here we go...keep in mind i'm starting this a little late so the next blog will be a catch up of some of the things that have happened in that month.
Not a lot of 20 something people would jump at the opportunity to dedicate their life to an organization for basically no money. In fact when I tell people that is what i'm doing I generally get a very puzzled look. However, on the flip side of that I also get the "your a saint" response. The fact is I did it for several reasons, 1) I didn't want to go to Grad school right away 2) I didn't want to find myself stuck a job that I didn't like and 3) I didn't really know what else to do. So here I am!
I have moved from North Carolina to Detroit, Michigan. I've been here for about a month and half. All I can say is it is like living in another world. No cities in NC even come close to the size that Detroit is. I also wanted to do this experience to see if I really loved North Carolina or if I was just staying inside my comfort zone...my bubble. Turns our I really do like North Carolina.
We Work for Less!
Now I named this We Work for Less because i'm a full time volunteer. Now i'm not making no money, I get a "big girl allowance" and an educational stipend at the end of my service to help chip away at my mountains of loans from school. My organization provides room and board so that is nice. If you really want the dollar per house amount with out calculating the cost of room and board I make about $4 a hour, so I'm not doing this for the money. So the point of this blog is to document my adventures through Detroit, Michigan and my experience as a full time volunteer. Oh, and the other thing that adds to this experience is that my organization is a residential program for youth, currently we have all teenagers. 8 to be exact, this is not to mention the community program that also has 8. So here I am 22 years old and i've dedicated a year of my life to trying my best to help 16 inner city kids take the steps to get into college, an opportunity that some of them didn't realize was possible until they got accepted into this program.
So here we go...keep in mind i'm starting this a little late so the next blog will be a catch up of some of the things that have happened in that month.
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