Pumpkins, Inez, and Thesis, OH MY

So Senior Retreat was better than expected, although I had to leave early to babysit and take a college math class :( Wish I could have stayed, but, life goes on. Anyway, I have been talking to Chamlee a lot about dates fro all the activities for the girls. October 16th (Saturday) is the date planned for the Pumpkin activity. Where each of the Cottages will be decorating the pumpkins, and I'll have a ribbon for the winner. I am thinking about the staff decorating a pumpkin to, just for fun. Also, I'm thinking about getting a fake pumpkin instead of real ones so the girls can keep them forever, but that takes the fun out of scooping all the goop put of the pumpkin. Inez, activity director, is keeping me updated on when the girls are available. She will let me know if October 16th will be a good date!

On the other hard, I think this research paper will be the death of me. I'm not sure why it is so hard to come up with a thesis! I guess it is because I am a perfectionist, and I strive for the best. I have changed my thesis more than two times now. It's killing me. One person likes it, the other person doesn't. So, NOW I am thinking about writing about teenage pregnancy. Oh well, we will see.

The Senior Commons is FILLED with left over food from the retreat, so I'm going to kick back, eat, and research.

Meet "Monica"

This week has been pretty slow. My mentor, Chamlee, will be leaving town next week so I probally wont be able to see the girls. As of right now, the pizza party is planned for the second weekend in october. It had been moved due to other activitied the girls have planned and such.
anyway, I thought it would be neat to show you the "featured" resident at the girls home, as found at http://www.spgirlhome.com/ :

Meet Monica:

Monica recently became a Junior Scholar.  This program, developed by the South Carolina Department of Education, identifies students with academic talent. In order to become a Junior Scholar, Monica had to achieve an above average score on the PSAT. Along with receiving an Award of Merit from the SCDE, she may also be invited to attend summer opportunities at participating South Carolina colleges and universities. Monica is in care at the Girls' Home due to abuse and neglect by her parents.  Her father was not actively involved and her mother regularly used illegal drugs in the home, often leaving Monica unsupervised and exposed to other addicts. At a very young age, Monica's mother prostituted her out for drug money. Monica, loves to work with her hands. She used to help her dad work on cars and quickly learned the enjoyment of creativity and hard work. Monica is also very social and enjoys spending time with friends. Monica loves to listen to music and to create it- she plays the cello.

I might try and eat with the girls next week, although chamlee wont be here. Well, talk to you later!

I'll start shopping for the girls next week! SO EXCITED FOR THAT!

Busy, Busy, Busy week!

            I feel like this is the true start of Senior Project. My project proposal was today and I think I did great! I was a little nervous, and Mrs. Zion called me in there while the board was taking a bathroom break, so I was standing in a room with only two board members! That stirred my nerves up a little bit!
            I think that the Board members really liked my project. Everything except for my research paper topic, so I think my new one will be 'Does what women wear and how they present themselves provoke males and rape?'  That may be too broad as well
           The girls- I'm so sad that I am not meeting with the girls this week! It's been so hectic around Oakbrook, that I don't think I would have had time anyway. I will for sure be eating diner with them again next week.
          Between two party time jobs, a boyfriend, and friends, this week has been CRAZY. Senior project proposal today, Econ outline due today, Econ paper due friday, vocabulary test today, college class math exam tomorrow morning, and I'm leaving this weekend for a wedding. Hopefully, I'll survive this week and write more later!

First impressions.

                     My first encounter with the girls was today. it went great, and i'm actually amazed of how great it went. I was extremely nervous at first. As soon as I walked in to the home, I felt like everyone was staring at me. My mentor, Chamlee introduced me to all of the girls. As soon as I was introduced, it was like I had been friends with them for a while. They all greeted me with a handshake and a smile, except for one. After this, Chamlee gave me a tour of the cottage, and  then it was time for dinner.

            " Line up and wash your hands!" was what I was instructed to do. When we lined up the team leader, one of the girls, went through dining room expectations. Each girl down the line went through the expectations and someone prayed. Then it was time to eat! Dinner was probally my least favorite part of the night. WE had beef and beans, and just weird stuff. I didn;t get a lot on my plate at first, and someone made the comment "Is that all you're going to eat?" so I felt like I had to get more. I ate beside the youngest  member of the home, a 12 year old little girl. she was precious. She asked what my favorite hobbies were, and we share the same favorite color, Green!  Anyway,

            After dinner a young girl, the age of 13 gave me a tour of the cottages. It was nothing like I expected. It was cozy and like a home. I liked it, a lot. I loved getting to know the girls. 

              One of the girls, I can not remember her name, writes poetry. When I went in her room, she had it on notebook paper posted on her walls. Heres some of what I saw: 

                                       "Am I really that bad of a person?" 

                                        "What did I do to deserve this?" 

                                                   "Why did all this happen to me?" 

This really made me hurt. I wanted to reach out and hug her and let know know she IS loved. I was deeply impacted tonight, and realize that I have a burning passion for these girls. I can't wait to to back.

"FC"- family conference- where a cottage of girls get togeather and discuss topics. Todays topic was Passion. We all went around telling each other what we were passionate about. It was amazing. I loved it as well. 

Hanging out with the girls: I was siting on the lawn chair talking with two girls. One is 15 years old and has a 27 year old boyfriend, named Jeff, who has 4 different babies. She is recent to the home. some of her comments : 

"I'm not used to living in a 'home-home" I've lived in a trailer all my life." 

"food stamps, is home me and my mama get by" 

I hurt for this girl. She told me horror stories about being arrested. I wanted to cry for her. 

Piercings!: EVERYONE has a piercing. A nose piercing to be exact. And some of the girls want to pierce my nose (: hmmmm. Administration prob wont agree with that!

My first impression of the hoe and the girls went better than expected. I loved it, and can't wait to go back. I found out that this, is my passion. 

The start of Senior Project

So I met with Chamlee last week. She is really cool and neat to talk with. My heart hurts for those girls at the Girls Home. Nest week i will be eating dinner with all of the girls at the home. I'm really nervous about talknig to them, what to say, what not to say. And I hope I like the food! As I said, here are some of the girls living there, and why they are there: Their stories are incredible. Here are some of them!:



"Kelli" was abandoned at age 6 by her mother at a friend’s house. She hasn’t seen or heard from her mother again. Kelli went through dozens of foster homes, never long enough to form substantial relationships. Now that she is “too old” for a successful adoption, she is living at the Girls Home. She loves to read and excels in school. She hopes to be a police investigator so she can search for her mother when she grows up.


"Jayna" was put up for adoption at 2-years-old. Her mother was addicted to crack and couldn’t care for her. After living in multiple foster homes, she came to the Girls’ Home. Jayna is the comedian in the house and loves hair and makeup. She wants to travel to Africa when she grows up in hopes of finding out where her family came from.

"Audrey’s" mother died of a drug overdose and her grandmother has cancer and can’t raise her. Because she was neglected, she never even learned her ABC’s or how to read. After being in foster care for the last year, she has successfully learned to read and write although she is almost four grade levels behind in school. Audrey loves sports and wants to be on the track team in high school.

"Jamie’s" mother had 6 children and was addicted to crack. Jamie was severely abused at age 12 by one of her mother’s drug dealers. After he was sent to prison, her mother couldn’t take care of her kids. Jamie is a straight A student and has a job at a fast food place where she is a top employee. She is obsessed with everything the color green!

"Sonya" was exposed to the world of prostitution at a young age. She watched her mother prostitute herself to feed her children. Sonya and her siblings were placed in foster care three years ago. She doesn’t like crowds but she loves to write poetry and read it to the staff at the Girls’ Home. She also practices basketball every day.

"Elizabeth’s" parents were teenagers. They were not able to care for her so she was put into foster care at five years old. Now she lives at the Girls’ Home. She loves fashion and wants to go to fashion school when she grows up. Her favorite color is red and she tries to wear at least one red thing every day.

"Sarah" is 17-years-old and has been in foster care since she was four. Her mother disappeared one night when she was dropped off at a neighbor’s house saying she had to go to the store for milk and she would be right back. She never saw her again. For years, she bounced around, living with people in her small community until she was placed in foster care. She is now a straight A student and wants to go to college at USC-Columbia. She hopes to practice law so she can help other kids who are forgotten about.

"Sophie" was abused by her step-father at age 11. Her mother didn’t believe that the abuse happened so she decided not to tell the authorities. When Sophie told her teacher, she was placed in foster care. Now she is living at the Girls’ Home. She loves animals and is a very sweet child that makes friends easily. She wants to be a veterinarian to help abused animals.
 all of this information may be found at spgirlshome.com