The First Week in Iowa

My team and I arrived in Urbandale, Iowa last weekend! While our two days of driving were long and exhausting, we did stop for delicious (and gluten-free!) food at the very least. Already, in the first week of inhabiting Iowa, I have discovered people, grocery stores, and restaurants in the area that actually understand what “gluten-free” means. What a huge relief! Mississippi was an unrealistic representation of the rest of the United States, thankfully.

Last weekend was the first official weekend of our deployment…and my goodness was it hard for me. My team is finally hanging out (without me urging them to) so I was incredibly grateful…but I was also incredibly lonely. Unlike the majority of FEMA Corps Southern Region teams, I am one of the two teams that were deployed alone. As I’m sure you all recognize from past posts—the group of Team Leaders (Team Green) is my undying support system…and now I am entirely without them. Yes, each and every one of them is just a phone call away (and yes, I have already abused that), but there is no longer someone welcoming me home with a “How was your day? Do you want to talk about it?”

My first night in Urbandale was a lonely one and significantly more challenging than I expected it could possibly be. I longed for a Team Leader to talk with, to distract me, to make me laugh, to remind me that being a Team Leader isa challenge, that I will be lonely, and that I can get through it. Maybe I didn’t have someone comforting me in the flesh in precisely my moments of doubt, but a few Team Leaders reached out shortly thereafter, and I am eternally grateful. So yeah, the first weekend was hard, but I have my Team Green support no matter where I am and no matter where they go. It was so refreshing to confirm that already, first weekend out.

The first weekend of loneliness taught me two very important things: 1) I’m not invincible and 2) I need to come up with productive, consuming, alone-time activities. The day after I learned these lessons my team and I attended the last day of an awesome book sale. I bought eight books for only $4.50! So not only did I get to splurge on books (my favorite)…but I have plenty of hours of reading materials now (alone time activity!!).

So now we’re nearing the end of our second weekend in Urbandale and let me tell you, I haven’t had even a second for loneliness in this past week. Between the 8-hour work days, post-work one-on-ones, grocery shopping trips, campus check-ins, daily chit-chats with mom, physical training, team meetings, volunteering at local events, and reading my new psychology book (totally nerdy, I know)…I hardly have time to sleep let alone think about how I’m the only Team Leader in Iowa.

So after one week here, I can say this: I think I am going to really like it here. I am consumed nearly all the time, my rare alone time is precious and used wisely, Urbandale/Des Moines has a heck-of-a-lot more to offer than I would have ever expected, my team agreed that morale this week is “good” and I get my own room for five more days. I’m happy, the team is happy; all is well here in Urbandale.

Until next time…

The Exciting News of October 10th!

To those of you who frequent this blog often, I have exciting news for you! Everything in my last post about going to Virginia and Washington D.C. is temporarily void. I have a new assignment!!

Iowa

is my new assignment location! I will be working at the Joint Field Office in Urbandale, IA (just outside the state capital, Des Moines) until this whole government shut down thing gets itself worked out. A few months ago a series of severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes struck throughout the State of Iowa…so my team and I will be assisting the public in matters that have not yet been taken care of. It’s vague—yes, but to be totally honest…I’m not sure what all I’m allowed to say on the World Wide Web…so I say the more vague umbrella terms the better!! I’m just grateful that we are able to finally deploy and start doing the work we’ve been trained to do J

Here’s how I feel about the change in plans: “lsdkjflsknllskjflsdjf!!!! :D J :]”. In English, that roughly translates to: “I am excited beyond words and thriving in this adrenaline fueled adventure!!! :D :) :]” I never thought when I accepted this position six months ago that I would be handing all this dramatic change in such a positive way. I absolutely love it. It’s terrifying and full of unknowns…but shockingly, those are my favorite things about it. I have a feeling I’m going to be quite an adrenaline junkie once I’m completed with my term serving in AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps (that name really never quickly flows off the tongue…).

We depart tomorrow morning at “9 am” after a series of room and kitchen inspections, room key turn ins, and last minute packing of the van. Now can you understand why I put it in quotes? We will be arriving in Urbandale, Iowa Saturday afternoon…with no set place to live yet. It is likely that we will not know our living situation until we’re there…but that’s the beauty of this job!

So here is to an endless amount of unknowns and unbelievable amounts of excitement! Iowa, here I come!! J

The Last Day of CTI

Yesterday wrapped up the final day of Corps Training Institute (CTI) and FEMA Specific Training. And today marks 10 and ½ weeks of being here. Without a doubt, these past two and a half months have been the most challenging, tiresome, and gratifying weeks of my twenty-two-and-a-half years.  

Now I’ll share the information I know I have been dying to know since the moment I got here. Where is Bayou 6 going on their first assignment??

WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA

and

FEMA Headquarters in WASHINGTON, D.C.

The details are still a little bit sparse…but that’s the nature of the business—FEMA Flexible. We head North on the morning of Tuesday, October 8^th. I cannot begin to put my excitement into words…so I’ll save that for another post.

Here’s the real inspiration of this post: Last Night. On the night of October 4, 2013, after 4 weeks of getting to know all the good and bad parts of the TLs during Team Leader Training and 6 weeks of hearing each and every one of them complain, cry, and praise themselves and their Corps Members…we still loved each other enough to throw a kick-butt surprise birthday party and Team Green celebration. After a week of sneaky email threads, getting dressed up, and kidnapping the birthday boy the celebration was a complete success. We transformed the cafeteria into the scene of what looked like a small-scale high school prom, took hundreds of pictures, danced like complete fools, and spoke kind words about everyone in the room. It was the perfect end to the best ten and a half weeks of my life.

A few of the young recently graduated TL staff attended our rendezvous last night and kept saying “this is so funny” about our party. Of course, I was confused and quite curious so I asked them to indulge me in their reasoning. As a quick background, these three young staff have been TLs and/or working for AmeriCorps NCCC at the many campuses for the past four years. That means they have witnessed the dynamics of at least eight classes of Team Leaders. When they explained why they thought it was “funny” it was explained to me that they have never in all their years seen a group of 30 individuals as close as we are…even after all the trials and tribulations we’ve had over the past many weeks. Over the past 6 weeks of CTI, every staff member has shared how impressed they are by this class of Team Leaders…but it wasn’t until last night after hearing it from someone that had once been in my shoes…did it truly sink in. I don’t think the past few months and meetings of accolades have been boosts to our egos or false senses of hope…FEMA Corps Class 20 Team Leaders truly are some of the best leaders the Vicksburg campus has seen walk through their doors. I, nor any of the Team Leaders here, take this compliment or this responsibility lightly. We do and will put all our effort and our best feet forward now until the end of our term in June. I cannot wait to see and hear about my fellow Team Leaders and my Corps Members growth in the coming months. 

Transformational August

I would love to do this monthly blog post the same as all the previous months…but I am realizing I can’t. I’m sure I could make a neat new set of categories that my life could fall into again…but I would rather not. Let’s see what I can come up with this month…

The first 25 days of August were about me, my fellow Team Leaders, and preparing for the Corps Members’ arrival.  The last 6 days were all about taking care of the eight individuals assigned to me, meeting a boat load of people, and maintaining my sanity in every way possible (Spoiler alert: I’m still sane 70% of the time as of September 29, 2013).

The first twenty-five days of August were probably some of the best days of my entire life. If it were possible to do a year of growing up in just three and a half weeks, that is exactly what I did. The trainings we Team Leaders went through in these weeks put us in vulnerable positions physically, mentally, and emotionally. We participated in a Leadership Reactionary Course at Camp Shelby which put each and every one of us on the edge of our physical abilities, showcased our personal leadership styles, and especially tested our patience. Our brains and folders were stuffed full of information on SF-91s, incident reports, budgeting, conflict resolution tactics, and personality indicators. And most importantly for me, I got to be completely vulnerable to all of the many emotions that I have. Between the Hands of Peace and Diversity trainings alone I felt like a completely refreshed individual. These were the days that Team Green transformed from coworkers to friends in my heart. I am grateful every day for wonderful new family I have found here in Mississippi.

There are a few things in August that are too good to stay vague about:

Pick Up Lines: Perhaps it is because there is not much to do in Vicksburg…or perhaps we are just a group of weirdos at the Southern Region NCCC Campus but one day, we looked up a massive amount of pick-up lines. My favorite, by far, is this:

                “Kiss me if I’m wrong…but dinosaurs still exist, right?”

It makes me chuckle every time…except when people remind me that lizards or alligators or something are ancestors of dinosaurs. Let’s just ignore that part and appreciate the cute little trap the line puts you in, haha.

My Original Goofballs aka Group 6:
My Temporary Corps Members.

Zumba: So often when I was at Cal Poly I would hear about people going to “Zumba”…but I know what the dance rooms are like at the Poly gym—they’re made of glass and everyone passing can see in. No thanks! As a member of AmeriCorps NCCC, however, physical training is a requirement of my job…and on this campus we have a certified Zumba instructor on the staff. Naturally, Zumba is a bi-weekly part of our physical training and I could not be happier about it! Until I took Modern Dance the beginning of my senior year of college, I had no idea how much I loved being in tune with my body and music. I love the chance to indulge in this recently discovered passion of mine in a carefree and productive way.

Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church: My senior year of high school, my friend and I made it a part of our college bucket list to attend church at a stereotypical southern Baptist church. Because we attended school on the Central Coast of California, our opportunity to fulfill this goal was, well, impossible. Luckily I live in Mississippi now! This church, I can truthfully say, has been a huge factor in my quick “growing-up” process. Yes, church is sometimes a little too long and yes, I do still space out intermittently…but the powerful voices of the choir, the involvement of the youth, and the charisma of the Pastor keep me coming back every single week. Here are a few sermon quotes/song lyrics that have stuck with me:

 “What you need is already inside of you.”                

“Take the limits off.”                

“Stop spending today saying you’ll do better tomorrow.”                

“The Lord woke you up to be a blessing to someone else today.”

Spending Sundays in this church has not only helped me forgive those who have wronged me in the past but also myself for each of the little and big mistakes I have made over the years. I finally feel like I have started on a clean slate with myself…I now trust myself fully to be the person I am meant to be. No more stagnancy.

The beginning of August, I felt lost, anxious, and longing for forgiveness. The end of August, I was bombarded with responsibility and knew exactly what to do, turned anxiety into proactivity, and gifted myself a clean slate. August was a month of personal growth and trust me when I say this, September is full of all of that and even more. This program is already proving to be the most challenging, painful, stressful, exhausting, and fulfilling position I have ever held. I only wish that everyone gets an opportunity as precious as this in their own lives. I urge you to go out and find this equivalent for you. 

The Best Days are Running Days

Here is a real quick recap of just TODAY...

I woke up real early in the morning to a phone call from an old friend, while the timing was quite...unique...it was wonderful to catch up. I'm always grateful when people from the past reach out...I truly need to start doing that to more people more often. Perhaps that will be my goal this upcoming week :)

Since the Mississippi heat has been somewhat tame, two fellow Team Leaders and I decided to go on a little jog to a beautiful lookout over the Mississippi River. The exercise felt great, the view was breath-taking, and the company was even better. I'm finding that I am most rejuvenated after getting my butt up early in the morning, exercising, and having non-work related conversations with fellow Team Leaders. All of Team Green got so close in the month before the Corps arrival...and since then we've all been quite stagnant. It's days like today that I am truly grateful to have-- the opportunity to be a twenty-two year old making new friends in a new environment, seemingly "free" of responsibility. I've found that the most (and only) opportune times to indulge in that freedom is weekend mornings. I guess I'll have to practice getting my lazy butt up early 7 days a week just to maintain the peacefulness I've so successfully achieved here. That's definitely worth it, I'd say. 

Today marks the 8th day of being with my permanent team. We are Bayou 6: The Sassy Six. This afternoon, we embarked on our first road trip as a group...and so far, so good :) The getting ready and packing was stressful and the car ride was quite squishy...but we ended the day on an incredibly high note: We have officially finalized our team cheer. It was great to see so many different types of individuals get excited about one mutual thing. I hope we can maintain this unity throughout the year...I can't wait to call these young people my new family. It makes me excited to see the progress we've already made in just one week :) 

To close out for the night...I'm feeling very fulfilled here and incredibly peaceful. I've began making better choices in my personal and social life in order to be happier in all the other aspects of life. I've kept in touch a decent amount with people back home, I've been writing every day (but obviously not in my blog...sorry!), and I've been taking the necessary me-time that I so desperately desire (and require). Some days are stressful and frustrating, but there is always something that picks me up before the day is done. I am grateful for all of Team Green for listening to me vent and sharing their stories with me. I am grateful for all of Bayou Six: The Sassy Six...I cannot wait to grow friendship in ways that I never have before. And I am grateful for the entire staff at the Southern Region AmeriCorps NCCC campus for always being so encouraging, supportive, and simply enjoyable to be around. Every single day of this program I am further convinced that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. 

Thank you for reading tonight's issue of my stream of consciousness, haha. More posts to come after this awesome camping trip :) Good Night! 

The Minions (Corps Members) Have Arrived!

On Monday, August 26^th, the FEMA Corps Southern Region campus in Vicksburg, Mississippi welcomed its newest 241 residents/employees. Team Green (aka all the wonderful people that just completed Team Leader Training with me) was an integral part of the welcoming committee. Some of us rode shuttles to bring the recently landed young adults to their new home, some of us unloaded luggage, directed paperwork fill-out, gave campus tours, prepared food, entertained, shuttled people to Walmart, or simply smiled at just about every person we saw. No matter what our role was that day—Team Leader, newly arrived Corps member, staff—it was exhausting in the most positive of ways.

Since then, as it has been a number of days since the 26^th, a lot of the ins and outs of campus, Corps Training Institute (CTI), expectations, and team bonding activities have taken place. The awesome, beautiful, great thing about this program is that all 240ish Corps members are broken down into small 6 to 9 person groups to help organize better…but mostly to create a little support system right off the bat. Here is the rough part though: AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps is a team-based program…and these are not our permanent teams. On Monday, I was introduced to eight intelligent, anxious, and open-hearted young adults and it is very likely that every one of us will be split up from one another. It’s just the nature of the program…but that doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking.

Through my years of experience in leadership roles, I have fallen into the caring, naggy, I-want-everyone-to-feel-comfortable-and-at-home, over-protective mother category of leadership. My role with this temporary team is absolutely no different. My greatest challenge these past few days hasn’t been about finding my alone time or making sure everyone fits in or everyone is getting to the right places at the right time. My greatest challenge is not falling in love with these talented and motivated young adults that I have the pleasure of having on my temporary team. Do you know how hard that is for me?? When we have breaks during the day, I usually just encourage them to take a nap, have some alone time, mingle with other groups, or go exploring because I don’t want to get too attached. It is horribly selfish, I know, but I just really don’t want to get hurt. When I accepted this job, when I got off the plane in Mississippi, and when I took my first steps onto this campus, I told myself that I would try to have NO expectations. In seven days, I will be assigned my permanent team--I do not want to expect to have the same individuals I have now, I do not want to expect that I will get along with my new team as well as this one, I do not want to expect that things will run smoothly. The moment I get my hopes up and guard down is when it is possible for me to be disappointed. I do not want to be disappointed in anything with this program, especially if I am perfectly capable of managing my expectations. I guess the bright side is…there is absolutely nothing stopping me from continuing to be my temp team’s mentor (or motherly figure) even after a permanent team is in place. That’s actually still a really awesome opportunity now that I think about it, haha.

So that is what has been going on over here—a struggle between leadership, friendship, motherliness, and getting too attached! It’s a challenge…but if I don’t find the perfect combination with this team…hopefully I’ll find it with the permanent one I’m put into in just seven short days. Until then, I’m keeping an open mind and an open heart. I know how lucky I am to have met the individuals I have already…I know next week will only be just as wonderful. J

Currently, as in, in-this-exact-moment, I am on Team Leader Duty for the night. Since this is a residential program and there are a lot of young people living together, the Team Leaders are required to patrol the campus and be on call 24/7. Tonight is my night. While I am exhausted, I am really enjoying myself: I get to spend time with one of my fellow Team Leaders, I have the opportunity to update my blog (yay for all of us!), I get to read for pleasure for a bit, and I just get time to reflect on this entire experience thus far—uninterrupted. Down-time, and especially down-time for me, is a precious commodity that I have no intention of wasting or abusing. Gotta take it where I can get it!

Hopefully these posts are giving you a decent idea of what is going on over here. If you want to know more or want me to delve into a topic deeper, please let me know! I love talking, I love writing, and I love my job…I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say…so ask away! J

Words That Hold Weight: Week Four

Well, this was the last week of Team Leader Training. This month of training has been everything except what I imagined. Despite the reality that all us Team Leaders will all still be together for the next six weeks, everything is about to change. Starting tomorrow we will begin to put all our training to the test. We start running the trainings we just experienced. We start finding hidden potential in our Corps members. We start, continue, and learn how to be mentors. Reality is about to hit. I am beyond ecstatic about having a group and loving them as if they are my family…but nostalgia is kicking in. This program is all about others. It’s about leaving communities and peoples’ lives better than we found them. I am nervous and excited for the challenge.

Hands of Peace Motto: “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.” 

“See every obstacle as an opportunity to learn.” 

“Leadership is all about what you want to lead.” 

“A leader has to be compassionate.” 

“A good leader is a mentor.” 

“Find a good mentor—that’s the key.” 

 “In this moment, there is plenty of time. In this moment, you are precisely as you should be. In this moment, there is infinite potential.” –Victoria Moran 

“If you weren’t afraid of letting go, you wouldn’t feel so free when you do it”

“You’re going to laugh about it later so you might as well laugh about it now”

For some reason, this last quote was said in training a few days ago. I can’t remember why it was said, but I must say, I fell in love with the concept. I absolutely love life, people, and laughter…and this job has already proven to be a wonderful place to indulge in every one of those things. Mistakes will be made; it is just a reality we all need to face. If those mistakes aren’t life threatening or so dire that someone gets hurt—laugh. What a simple and joyful concept.