What kind of service brings you joy?

Emery working the light board at the Junie B. Jones Show

Last week, our priest cited Mother Theresa (now Saint): “I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.”
— Mother Teresa

Service has been on my mind for a while. As a high schooler, I joined the Beta Club and began a year of serving others, in hospitals, in malls (at the angel tree), and in shelters. I don’t know why I joined the club. My close friends weren’t in it—to be honest, a teacher probably suggested it (which is how I became an English teacher instead of a science one). But, I still remember those moments and the joy they brought me.

As a faculty member, I applied for a service-learning program in which faculty learn how to incorporate service into their courses. The point behind service-learning is that students learn as much from the entity they serve as the entity benefits from their service. It’s a rewarding reciprocal approach to learning which brings to life course content. I applied (mainly because it came with a stipend) but I came away with a new appreciation of brining the community into the classroom (we partnered with local libraries).

It’s no secret that part of the college preparation journey is making sure your child has some sort of community service. And, of course, that’s been on my mind for Emery’s preparation. And, I’ve seen so many scholarship applicants’ service endeavors that it’s overwhelming. The final projects for Eagle Scouts for example (my cousin Max’s is an example) are amazing.

But, Emery has no service. He’s never asked to take part in volunteering (probably because he’s so busy), but he might not have know what options he might have. Also, all of the opportunities he’s heard of deal with working with younger children, which he’s really not interested in.

But it wasn’t until we met with Emery’s counselor last year (a meeting I asked for, by the way because if you’re kid is “doing fine” you will never meet with a counselor or administrator unless you ask), that I understood how to approach you child about service.

She suggested that service should relate to your children’s interest. Well, that’s theatre, fencing, composing, and chess. So, this year, he’s volunteering with community theatre, organizations that depend on volunteers to run productions. I don’t know that it’s the service I’d pick for Emery, but it’s what he knows, they need him, and I hope he’s experiencing joy from running the lights at their shows.

Emery’s side
I agree with everything my mother has said so far. When choosing a community service, I at first wanted something that I would enjoy, but also helps out the community in a meaningful way. Looking at the options I had, they’re weren’t really any that I would really enjoy. So, I just chose running lights at a local theatre. It’s not much to brag about, but I enjoy it, being able to do something I like, with people I like. If I was to do something I wouldn’t enjoy, I would at least talk a few of my friends into doing it. I know that things that would normally be awful, are suddenly great when with a friend.

Too early to start thinking about college?

In my new position, I am learning a lot about recruiting, including admissions. And, in my conversations with parents of high schoolers, I’ve been privy to their anxieties about choosing colleges, getting into colleges, and I guess it starts with applying to colleges. And, despite discussions of holistic application review, I’m afraid that most admissions’ decisions are based on a test score and a GPA. But, I’ve only just begun this process, which we all know, should be Emery’s process. After all, I somehow figured out how to get into college and get a scholarship on my own. Of course, I made other poor decisions like choosing a college based on where my friends were going and retaking courses I already had credit for through dual enrollment (which will be another blog post).

I don’t know where to begin in my quest to help Emery get into the school he wants to, and I’m sure it’s too early to begin thinking about college. After all, Emery just started high school three days ago. But, why not? After all, I was reading books on raising kids before I gave birth to him.

So, I randomly decided to start with CommonApp.org, which is a website that agrees that the path to college begins with kindergarten, but it’s not about building a resume, but building “character.” Well, we will see what happens over the next four years.  CommonApp, for those who are not familiar with the website, allows “students to apply to over 700 colleges with one application.”

In the meantime, here are the prompts for this year’s group of hopeful applicants. I’ve asked Emery to look through them and choose the one he would write about and why.

2017-2018 Common Application Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. [No change]

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? [Revised]

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? [Revised]

4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. [No change]

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. [Revised]

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? [New]

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. [New]

Emery's Response
I would choose number one, and talk about what makes me an individual, unique. This is because when applying for collages, you want to stand out, and seem different from all the other applications they received. By sharing some of the circumstances I’ve had, and how I used them to my advantage, would make me look good in a positive way. I noticed that some of the other topics deal with explaining negative things that happened to the writer, and how it changed them. I feel like I have had a very good life so far, at least compared to the majority of other people, and it is easier to draw examples from the good or interesting parts of my life. 

One of the biggest influences on how I act daily and make me unique are the people around me and friends I make. The friends I have made over the years have in a way taught me how to act in some situations, since most of them are older than me. And since I have friends who all think very differently, when faced with a problem I often see many angles of what impacts my choices will have, meaning I treat these situations very delicately.

Five Tips for Suzuki Summer Institute

Five Tips for Suzuki Summer Institute

Emery has been to a lot of Suzuki violin summer institutes. And, I don’t know if this is typical, but he and his two friends tend to try out different camps. While I think our friends might be more of an expert in this area, I do think our experiences (and listening to theirs and the parents in the hallways on whose conversations I eavesdrop) are worth sharing. Even if you don’t do Suzuki, they might apply to other camps as well.

1. Choose your camp early and plan your summer around that camp. Seriously. By the end of most camps, they will give you the dates for next summer.
2. Follow the teacher. We have one teacher who is one of our favorites. Emery makes tremendous progress with him each year, but the best part is that he makes his classes fun for his students.
3. Decide why you want to go to camp. Yes, this really should be point #1. Do you want to visit a new place? Do you want your child to make marked improvement in a week? Both? If you do all of a camp, it will be exhausting. If you try to combine both, it will be exhausting. Do you want your child to learn from new teachers? Do you want them to be with their friends?
4. Find a good place to stay. You want one that is A. Close to the camp. B. Has options for suites (extended places are good options). C. Has laundry and a pool. D. Relatively inexpensive (often the institute has an agreement with local hotels). E. Has a nightly food and beverage option and more importantly, a breakfast included in the price.
5. Think about the electives. Are they age-appropriate? Would your child be interested in them? I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to a camp and have your child decide they don’t want to do a class that you’ve paid money for, but I’ve seen it happen. Probably we shouldn’t make our children miserable.

The last post on Suzuki camp was in 2013 for us. I’m going to try to make my husband reflect and update his post (which was seething), but he’s too busy relaxing in the airport right now. I’ll try again next week.


Emery’s Response
A great part of going to Suzuki camps is meeting new people who are doing the same program you’ve been doing. When learning the Suzuki method, beside from camps,  there isn’t much interaction with people besides the teacher and parent. By going to a camp, you meet new people, practice together and share experiences and how things are done slightly differently with your teacher. What I used to talk about with others is which song they are on, so I can see if I am ahead or behind the majority of people. Now I stopped asking people that, and instead talk with them about hobbies they have outside of Suzuki.