The Final Chapter | Sandra Carlo

I always hope to look back at the span of an experience and not feel as if I wasted any of it. For there to be a sense of relief that everything I could have made out of what I was doing I did. That every lesson was learned, every “t” was crossed. As we sped through the first part of the semester I worried I was putting my Alt Break experience on the back burner. I enjoyed learning about the social justice issues we were tackling, and I especially enjoyed “manning” the education committee with Nibras to help cover all of our bases before we went. Several weeks pre-trip I made a bond with myself that I would  invest myself as fully as I possibly could in this experience so I didn’t leave with any sort of regret, or insight I would have otherwise skipped over. How privileged it is to be able to spend a months worth of rent and groceries to be able to fly across the country for a week to work with poverty. Honestly. This isn’t coming from a place of guilt, but I feel as if it’s a wake up call one who participates in these service learning experiences must have. What I’ve learned the most centers around my passion, but also my drive. My passion has always existed. I’ve always put the well-being of others above my own needs but as I learned in DC, that has a direct correlation with my drive and endurance to be able to continue the work. So often we expect servant leaders to always be just that, but it’s important to take time for self-care and have an “at the roots” experience. Specially for me, that was the YSOP dinner we hosted. It was a renewing experience, despite the fact that I was worn down. I felt selfish in the presence of those with less than I to be so detached even though I had an air mattress and food upstairs that would comfort me after we finished cleaning up.

If I could give any piece of advice to someone who was about to embark on an Alternative Spring Break experience it would be: don’t take the reflections for granted. Whether that be in writing, in groups, with your peers, etc. Be vulnerable in these. Open up, say what you’re really feeling. All too often we put walls up to those who are feeling with us. Allow yourself to feel with those around you. And then let that feeling guide your work afterwards.

At YSOP we wrote letters to ourselves to receive a month after. I’m excited to read mine. I excited to feel what I was in that moment once again. Never underestimate the pure, authentic will power associated with being inspired to make a change. That’s what I felt at the end of that week. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel it now, but life will take it’s toll and convince you those passions are unimportant. I’m learning how to fight through. How to be resilient in the face of opposition and hopelessness, and rise up above.

“Whatever our souls are mad of, his and mine are the same.” -Emily Bronte

48 Hours Following|Sandra Carlo

As we return to the busy repetition and pattern of our lives it’s hard to believe that less than a week ago I was facing a very different experience. An experience that consisted of direct growth, effective change, and community engagement. In this privileged life of mine I have noticed that it is so easy to get caught up in the movement of the moment. I don’t worry about where I will sleep, how I will transport myself to work, when/what my next meal will be. I don’t say this out of guilt, it’s just reality. Coming back from DC is making me more thoughtful of this repetition life can become when necessities are easily accessible. I hope this experience reminds me to be more mindful of my surroundings and always put purpose behind my actions.

Beyond Direct Service| Sandra Carlo

Although Alternative Breaks are a lot of meaningful work that requires energy and focus, that doesn’t mean there isn’t time to relax, explore the city, and have fun. I found that many of the places I visited in my off time only reinforced the ideas I learned about during my service. Whether that be on quotes I saw at various memorials and monuments, or specific historic events I continued to read up on in the museums we visited, I left Washington DC with a social justice outlook that extended beyond just the direct service that we took part in. Here are some quotes I found in various parts of DC that I want to take some time to reflect on to remember to good of this trip.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

“We’ve got to tell the unvarnished truth.” -John Hope Franklin

“All men are created equal…with certain unalienable rights…whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.” -The Declaration of Independence

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” -Martin Luther King Jr

“America…needs citizens who love it enough to re-imagine and re-make it.” -Cornel West

“One cannot truly understand America without understanding the historical experience of black people in this nation. Simply put, to get to the heart of this country one must examine its racial soul.” -Eric Holder

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” -Maya Angelou

Martin Luther King Jr Memorial

“I oppose the War in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart. And above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world.”

“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bend toward justice.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.”

“It is not enough to say, ‘we must not wage war.’ It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace.”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moment of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”

FDR Memorial

“Man and nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men.”

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

“We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.”

“We have faith that future generations will know that here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a times when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.”

Library of Congress

“There is one only good namely knowledge and one only evil namely ignorance.”

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”

 

Unity | Sandra Carlo

Day two… Yesterday was long. Today was even longer. Between a day of service at a local elementary school in Ward 7 assisting with reading partners, to cokking for and serving guests at the YSOP meal it was a lot of work and required patience. I wasn’t feeling great today, but it didn’t prevent me from learning important lessons. In service learning you’re going to have off days and so are the people that you are serving. The source of motivation for me is that this work is important and needs to be done regardless. So it’s okay to not be at the top of your game. The kids we worked with at Drew Elementary were so eager to learn it was inspiring. For some background, it’s a title 1 school and DC public schools are still fairly segregated. The staff of that school do everything they possibly can to provide qaulity resources to aid the kids education. Some initiatives I thought were pretty neat included having americorps members working the reading partners program as an early supplemental focus on literacy, afterschool programs for men of color to express themselves via artwork, and serving meals all day to assist with focus and learning. At the meal we served many different types of people showed up. My table was struggling to keep constant conversation that didn’t feel forced. We found unity and genuine fun in a game of uno. It’s the little things.

Lessons on Dignity | Sandra Carlo

Today was our first day of service learning. The group I got assigned to was located at Martha’s table. Martha’s table is a multi-faceted organization located within different wards in the DC metro area. They have different services that encompass everything from Early Childhood care and nutrition to free farmers markets in food deserts to low price high quality thrift stores. We were asked to help out at one of the thrift store locations. It was super neat to see a staff that was so passionate about the work they do and the impact they have on the community. I found myself thinking that I could work for an organization like that one day. I would wake up ready to face the challenges of the world with a smile on my face. After a little while of sorting through clothing and stocking the racks three of us went to help out with another initiative. After the women’s March on Washington Martha’s table put out an ad saying that they would collect Metro cards that would not be used again from that weekend. After I attended I remember seeing that I’d come through our buses Facebook page but I did not donate mine because I knew I’d be coming on this trip soon after. I’ve got to help sort through the cards by the amount of money that was known or unknown so it could be redistributed to someone in need. Even if the car did not have an amount still on it it could still be given away because just to buy a card is a $2 fee before you can even load it. There honestly should be systems like this in every city. Not only to help those in poverty good also just to produce less waste. it was so rewarding going through the mailed and cards because many people wrote notes along with them. One of my favorites that I came across was an original piece of artwork of the March turned into a postcard (pictured above). After today I find myself eternally gracious for the Privileges I have in my life but also for those who are always fighting the long fight for those who don’t. Being in a city like DC where there such a large disparity and the distribution of wealth really displays the class issue we have in this country. It also highlights the effects of policy has on poverty. What is political is personal and bad policy affects people every day. Homelessness is much more visible here in DC than it is in Wichita. It surprises me that politicians who are seeing these living conditions every day are not more moved to change. This is reality for so many people across the country yet we treat it like it’s an unsolvable issue. I have faith that with proper legislation and removing the stigma around being poor that as a country we will be able to solve or at least drastically help food insecurity and poverty. It has to be a priority. People, all people, need to be treated with dignity.

Great Expectations | Sandra Carlo

In these last couple pre-trip hours the fact that we’re about to embark on this week is becoming reality. As with any new experience nerves are to be expected. My nerves aren’t from feeling unprepared, mainly just from the unexpected. I knew in high school that when I went to Wichita State I wanted to participate in the Alternative Break program that I saw other people go through. As of later today, it’s happening.

A couple of things I want to remind myself through the week:

1. Why I am in DC.
2. All people can share common ground.
3. My experiences shape the way I see the world. Try to view the world as if I have not had the privileges I have.
4. Take time for reflection.
5. You have 5 days, try to stay high energy!

 

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose.” -Mary Shelley

Margaret Atwood | Sandra Carlo

She has published 35+ pieces of writing unapologetically tackling controversial issues & always speaking truth. Applause. Are there any questions?

Service & Reflection | Sandra Carlo

People participate in service for various reasons. For some people they just want to feel as if they’re making a difference in a short period of time. Some people do it to temporarily feel good about themselves and their contributions. The majority of people though want to educate themselves on the reality of the world that surrounds them and do what they can to help. There’s no right or one way to do service. However, there are components that make it more of a learning experience. One of which of these components is reflection. Reflection means you are actually being exposed to growth and taking into consideration the things that you learned while completing a task. I believe reflection is a necessary component to all actions in life. I reflect after a full day of classes, while making tough decisions, after attending a conference, or even just before I go to bed each night. I journal almost every day for this very reason. I journal about day-to-day trials and tribulations, small joys, conversations that made me think, my emotions towards myself and other people, along with a myriad of other things. As a young activist journaling and reflection keeps me focused. It’s a constant reminder of why I do what I do which can be easy to lose track of. Reflection helps form your narrative. You never know what your story is if you’ve never stopped to think about it. Having a narrative and story in service work is important to move forward, tell why you do what you do, and have a powerful way to express your sentiments and convictions. Service without reflection is an action. Service with proper reflection is an experience. I look forward to documenting my journey and how Alternative Break has changed me throughout this blog. In order to truly reflect, one has to be honest and vulnerable. I plan on doing just that.