I’ve been meaning to write this entry for a long time. I miss blogging but whenever I come up with an idea to blog about something, I forget or I don’t take the time to write it out. Well, even though I should be sleeping since I have 9am class, I can’t stop thinking about this and I need to write this down. 

Sometimes when we start something and we get caught up in the logistics of getting things started and wrestling out the wrinkles in the paper, we forget why we started everything in the first place. I don’t want to forget why I am here in the first place. 

I started Rec-N-Read not just for helping kids. I could’ve done that by simply volunteering or tutoring at any school or any program set in place. No. I wanted to help many people. I wanted to help teachers, school administrators, professors, college students, on top of helping kids. I wanted to help everyone in this one little idea. I wanted to create something that will be used in more than one school. Big ambitions right? Well, I can see that all done in one way - creating connections through one passion, reading.

I love reading. I love reading so much.  I love reading everything. Reading has opened the world to me. It has given me so many opportunities. The knowledge I have, the education I have, the stories I can share, the ways I’ve learned to communicate, etc. Even if I tell you how much reading can do for you, you cannot fully understand until you know how to fully appreciate comprehending what you read. This passion can be shared with the world from big to small. Everyone can learn to read. Everyone can use reading for something. It is accessible everywhere. It is a life skill that needs to be appreciated. 

With Rec-N-Read, I wanted to extend the ambitions from getting volunteers to help kids through reading but really showing them the world within the books. Also, I know this program can give what the educational system needs. I can give college students a purpose with this volunteer program. I can help them remember why they came to college in the first place. They can recognize how much their education can change a life. All that they’ve learned and known can be reapplied. Okay yeah you can’t teach kids about macroeconomics or international relations. But the critical thinking that made you understand macroeconomics and international relations can be reapplied. You can break down those subjects into elementary/middle school terms. Example: economics - teaching kids what a market is or what trading is by having them create their own market. You could even make a fake stock market (I am totally using this idea in my program). International relations - people fight, people make treaties, people ally themselves - act out wars and show that wars often occur because of limited resources. How can we really understand what we learn in college if we cannot break down in the simplest terms? 

We need to be more collaborative in helping people. Yes I am only a college student but I still have many things to offer to teachers who have years of experience and they also can offer things to show me. I am not pursuing to be a teacher but that doesn’t mean learning how to teach others will help me develop my communication and presentation skills. Also, teachers and administrators need younger people to help motivate them and encourage them that their work is making a difference. I want to show those teachers and administrators that care that I can give them resources that they cannot obtain from the state. I can’t give money but I can give them time. I can’t be a miracle worker with raising test scores but I can help them do their job beyond the classroom and get kids to really appreciate the lessons they learn from their teachers. 

Attending the Clinton Global Initiative reiterated the things I already believed in and it reinforced that I am not alone in this struggle to really help the world. It is possible to make a difference. Efforts to try is making a difference itself. I am really thankful for the experience. Without it, Rec-N-Read would just be a wistful idea on the back burner. 

This week was a roller coaster of emotions from elation to doubts. But no matter what is happening or who is apart of this program, I appreciate every minute of its ups and downs. Everything and everyone is a growing lesson. 

No matter how much I want to cry because of the stress or the time commitments, I will never give up on this program. No more complaints or negative thoughts about the worst. I am ready. I have the ball rolling. I have potential schools to work with. I have some professors already supporting me. The past week has showed me that trying has gotten me so much further than I could forsee. We are already breaking boundaries. I am looking forward to the journey.