Open Mic Night, Home Visits, and Adam Vann

           So, this past Thursday I went to the Girls Home again. Once I got there, the girls were really 'rallied' up because they did not hae school Friday, so they we're all out of routine. One I got there, *Sammy ran up to me and asked if I wanted to go to Open Mic Night with some of the girls. I said sure, unknowing of what I was getting myself into. Before we left, I ate dinner with the girls and they all remembered my name! I played Checkers with the youngest girl in the home (who cheats!) And helped the girls get ready to go out. It was really good to see the girls again, even though I saw them the past Saturday. A girl named *Jewll was going on a home visit. She was SO excited!! Her Uncle, came to pick her up around 630, and he walked right in the front door. This really took me by surprise. I did not know that the family members could just walk in..oh well, I'll look more into that later. The girls that were not going on a home visit immediately changed when he waled into the door. They got really quiet..I think it was jealousy. I can't wait to see how her home visit went though!

         Furthermore....Later at the Open Mic Night..

Open Mic Night

I later found out that it was held down town at the Hub-Bub, where high school students get together and have the opportunity to sing, rap and read poetry. All hte girls gathered in the bus and we took off! Once we got there, It was really neat to see how many people showed up! It was packed! It was fun to fellowship with the girls and see how they act in a public place. It was almost as if we all had been friends for a while. We talked, listen to people sing, (good and bad!) and I watched them giggle and smile as a male walked buy, like normal teenage girls do. One of the girls asked me if my boyfriend was a good influence, The Open Mic Night was really fun!

Adam Vann, was actually a host at the open mic night. I had the opportunity to have a conversation with him and the girls at the same time before he tragically passed away last week. This taught me to never take someone you know (or just met) for granite.

Next wekk i'll be spending the Thursday with the girls as well, can not wait to see what this week brings!

OH YEA!

P.S- I finished my research paper rough draft with sucuss! Complete and on time!

October 16th 2010

                                                Pumpkin Decorating  

These were some of the pumpkins
after the decorating!! They did
an awesome job!

These were some of the
pumpkins before the girls started to
decorate

On October 16th, I had my first planned activity with the girls. Because it was my first activity, I decided that it would be a good idea to get togeather with another group with more expierence so i could see what to do. I worked with Fernwood Baptist church and their Youthgroup. Starting at 4pm we all met at the girls home and decorated pumpkins! The girls loved the pumpkins and they turned out really good! After that, we ate dinner, had fellowship time and relaxed. For dinner we had hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chips, and lemonaide. To top that off, everyone had a cupcake to go with it. The girls seemed to really enjoy the time and interactions with other people. After dinner, we played games, and had a bonfine. At the bonfine, we roshed marshmellows and had S'mores! I loved getting to relax with the girls and get to know them better! Everyother thursday starting tomorrow, i will be going to the girls home and tutoring the girls and spending time with them! i can't wait! I've had so much fun. It was really neet to see how each girl decorated their pupkin. Their emotions they were feeling really impacted how they decorated their pumkpin. One girls pumpkin said "mamas girl forever". One girl that does not speek very ofter had one of the surprising pumpkins. This girl never has a smile on her face and does not talk or associate with people much. Her pumpkin said SMILE on it, with pretty black and red stars. To me, that pumpkin SCREAMS "I want out of this, I want to burst out in smile, but I just cant." Tomorrow, I'm going to devote more attention to her, and see what happens

Faces have to be blured out or
covered for protection. She was so
proud of her pumpkin!

One if the pumpkind that 'spoke' to mt the most

Laerning upon my Thesis

For my Senior Project research paper, i am writing about date rape and why it occurs more ofter now. Before, my topic was really broad. Now I am writing about why date rape happens due to the way society views women, women's morals, and women's loss of self-respect.  Through my research, I have learned lots of new statistics. 1 in every 4 girls are raped or sexual assaulted, and 84% of these girls knew their rapist. I have learned that rape is more common now than ever. Did you know that when a teenage boy looks at a movie with a rape scene (one example is the last house on the left)  it makes him feel as if that is 'in the norm'. Also, the phrases "I'll rape you" are tossed around frequently at hignschools and middle schools as a joke! I am learning so much about my topic ,and it is really interesting to learn about. Next week, I will be interviewing Trey Gowdy. I'll keep you posted!

Meet "Natalie"

This months feature girl is "Natalie" Natalie likes things to be neat. She takes great pride in decorating her room with her favorite things and in organizing the common areas of the group home. Her peers have voted her the manager of the home because of her great administrative skills. She is a hard worker, making the honor roll this past year. Recent test scores showed her testing two grade levels above her current school grade. Natalie also shows a lot of care for her peers, often being the first to welcome in a new resident.

         Natalie entered foster care at the age of fourteen. Her mother died a few years before she entered care and the Department of Social Services removed her from her father's care. When she was removed, she lived with her father in a drug house where a great deal of prostitution of was taking place. She was addicted to multiple drugs, had poor grades due to poor attendance and it was suspected that Natalie was being prostituted out. Many of these behaviors continued when she first entered foster care. After multiple placements, Natalie entered the Girls' Home in late summer, 2008. In the last eight months, she has made amazing strides as evidenced in her likes and her hopes for the future.

anyway, On October 16th (saturday) I will be helping a local church and their church group decorating pumpkins, having a bonfire, and making s'mores! While attending the Spartanburg International Fest. on Saturday, I actually ran into a couple girls from the girls home! That was cool. On Thursdays, I will be tutoring the girls and eating dinner with them! This has been such a neat journey!