Here we go...
Our project is all about exploring the concepts of happiness and treating it as a skill that needs to be learned and grown. I'm excited for the opportunity to meet and talk to so many different people throughout this project. It's only just begun and I've already been able to connect with so many people and I'm excited to be able to really dedicate my time to this project!
My mentor is Fernando Lopez who is the Director of Operations at the San Diego Pride offices. After connecting with Fernando, myself and a few other team members attended Pride's 'lunch bunch' which is put on for San Diego Youth to come hang out, talk, and connect. The whole experience was great to see how people can connect and really form a community through their similarities. I really enjoyed getting see people share their interests and passions in such a safe environment. To the right is a picture taken at the end of the Lunch Bunch Meeting.
My mentor is Fernando Lopez who is the Director of Operations at the San Diego Pride offices. After connecting with Fernando, myself and a few other team members attended Pride's 'lunch bunch' which is put on for San Diego Youth to come hang out, talk, and connect. The whole experience was great to see how people can connect and really form a community through their similarities. I really enjoyed getting see people share their interests and passions in such a safe environment. To the right is a picture taken at the end of the Lunch Bunch Meeting.
The Beginning
It's funny how quickly you can get an the feel for something. We have only just begun our project and I already feel incredibly positive about it. We are having the opportunity to meet and work with so many different people and go so many different places. We have spoken with so many of the people we have worked with and met as part of the preparation for our documentary and what has really struck me is the differences and similarities that each persons responses have. Each persons story is unique but the sentiment behind it is often the same. I have also really enjoyed being able to go and do these things with my group members and share these wonderful experiences with them. The way our project has been working is that it is a constant work in progress. Our schedule is changed and adapted based on the organizations and people we have been in contact with and it has been a great learning experience in how to really manage our schedule as well as others. I am excited to be able to go into some of the offices of the places we have been speaking with and see more of what their working environment is like. My only worry throughout this project is balancing schedules and gaining confirmation from organizations. However, so far we have been able to manage it successfully.
This week we have the pleasure of beginning to work with more of the organizations that we have been in contact with. On Monday we visited once again with Resounding Joy (which works in music therapy for senior citizens) and are also beginning work with Q-International (an International school in San Diego which teaches English and expands into other classes on spirit and passion). Working with these organizations has really given me a window into the different worlds that we all come from. There are so many wonderful differences that can be embraced in our world and its a joy to get to see and experience things from a different perspective than my own.
The Journey Continues
As the project has progressed I feel that we've fallen into more of a flow on how to work efficiently and productively. We have started to follow certain hours because of working with the organizations and it has given us a chance to do some very fun and interesting things. I'm happy that I chose to do this project because I get to experience so many different types of things with so many different types of organizations. I am really enjoying this opportunity to collaborate with my friends in this independent setting. I think it is definitely a valuable experience to get to work so independently before we graduate.
For a project like ours we have had to do a large amount of coordinating and connecting with mentors through email and phone calls. It has been really interesting to see the different connections we can make through certain people simply by mentioning a topic that we are exploring. There is a real chain of people who are able and willing to help and work with us. Although we are working with many different mentors, the main person we have been working with on overseeing the project has been Marcy (who works as a career coach in passion and purpose). She has encouraged and worked with us to learn about ourselves and arranging our project through networking. There are a variety of organizations that we have been able to be put in contact with through self-advocating and speaking to marcy about as topics we would like to explore and experience (such as Just In Time For Foster Youth, among other organizations).
I have been extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work with and learn from my peers/group-mates and my mentors. This project has really made apparent the importance of communication and how that changes for every individual.
Developing and Changing
Over the course of this month, our project has changed and developed. It's interesting how we have been able to learn more about what will work efficiently. When we first started this project, a lot of the elements seemed daunting. We had a large number of people to manage and contact. We had never had to do anything like this before and it felt as though we had thrown ourselves into the deep end. As we worked though, we became much more efficient with our work. We learned to adapt to different peoples expectations and way that they wanted to work and communicate. We have grown a lot in our professional abilities and I am really grateful to have had this experience.
Nearing A Close...
I have really appreciated this opportunity to focus on the values of passion and community. Before this project I was very interested in the concept of community. Being raised in community focussed schools my entire life, I have always been aware of the importance a community can bring. But, I have never been able to really explore this concept and how universally accepted it is. Throughout this project we have spoken to many different people; whether it be someone right off of the street or a person in a larger organization. Everyone has a different sense of what happiness means to them. The thing that has spoken to me has been the connecting quality in everyone's responses. No matter who we asked the thing that happiness seemed to always be rooted in, was a sense of connection with the outside world. This idea that as humans we have an intrinsic need to connect with others and the world is very fascinating to me. This idea is something that I'd like to keep after this project is completed and apply in my everyday life. I want to connect with people and the world and I want to help break down barriers that others may have keeping them from achieving this connection.