The school I have worked at this year is getting naked from the inside out. Art projects, writing samples, door decorations, and inspirational posters are getting taken down faster than you can ask "How many more days do we have?" Today, the answer to that question is: ONE MORE DAY!!! The kids have been ready for this for weeks it seems, the sixth graders even longer. They are done reading and practicing math facts (...come on, just practice a few more times and you'll be on your Indigo dragon!...) and really done sitting still, inside, in their chairs while the weather occasionally turns sunny.
In my last couple of weeks working with the students I have realized how much they have grown in so many ways! The way they now process and understand information amazes me. I can streamline the directions or explanation I'm giving them and before I know it they have completed an assignment in a fraction of the time it would have taken just to explain the directions at the beginning of the year. Lately my heart has been swelling with pride as I have watched my students conquer multiplication facts, "chunking out" more difficult words when reading, and, last week, sing and dance to Klallam songs at the culminating family dinner on the last day of After School Program. I am selfishly thankful that Megan will continue working in the same school with the same kids next year so that I can still keep tabs on who's doing what and be proud of them for their continued growth and successes. My plan is to send letters through Megan, and when my job ends next year just before Memorial Day come up and visit. These kids were not a filler in my life these past months; they were the sustenance and I would not have survived without them.
Part of me still wants to stay here for another year. I doubt that feeling will go away for a long time. So much good, personal and professional, has come from this adventure to the Olympic Peninsula. The staff at the school I was at welcomed me with open arms and always treated me as a competent person who really could teach students. I had to earn my stripes with a lot of the kids, but it was so worth the trials I went through. As I have gotten to know their stories more it is so easy to see why an outsider would be tested (sometimes thisclose to the breaking point), so I am lucky that some let me in to form these amazing relationships. The smiles and hugs and successes they share with me now are priceless. Being an AmeriCorps member in Port Angeles is something that I have always felt proud to associate myself with. Not all community members have known what AmeriCorps is or what we members do which is not always an easy thing to describe because we wear so many different hats, often at the same time. But, those who were already aware of who we are and what we do have always made me feel like the work that my teammates and I do on this peninsula is worth it's weight in gold. We are well taken care of. Megan and I are almost always getting sent home with the leftover food from a gathering. People have lent tools for me to use at home. A teacher graciously watched Maise when there was an overnight AmeriCorps retreat. Many kind words and encouraging pats on the shoulder have been given from those around me, letting me know I was not alone.
Many times this year have been tough. I have buried my head in my hands at the end of countless days and wondered what I was going to do with these kids I work with. There's been a lot of car trouble for me. A long time friend disappointed me big time and the experience left me feeling emptier than I thought it should have for longer than I thought it should have. I would not trade any of the hard times for the beauty, love, happiness and sense of self, peace, and place I have experienced while here. I am thankful I still have a month left here and will get to try my hand at a few other "jobs," as well as spend time with the gorgeous souls I have found solace, acceptance, and laughter with. If this is what it means to (almost) complete a term of service with AmeriCorps than I am forever thankful I had this opportunity.
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