Boys and Girls Club

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou

(Always rocking the tie dye)

I had been searching, and applying, and praying for a new job for what seemed like decades (but in reality was just a few months.) It's not that I didn't want to be making Dirty Dr. Peppers and frosting sugar cookies for the rest of my life, but I just felt kind of useless. I understand, it's college and you have to work sucky jobs and clean greasy fryers and wear permanently smelly shirts with numerous stains on them every day, but I was just done. I felt like there was something missing from my life and I felt that I wasn't using any of my talents and I certainly wasn't learning any new ones. And I was just so frustrated because I'd apply for tons of jobs I was certainly qualified for I would just never hear back. Or I would hear back and they'd tell me I could only get a few hours a week or that I'd have to work every weekend and holiday. Bleh. Tanner told me that I could be a receptionist at the car wash he's working at until I found something better so I finally quit Chugz and became a much less fun version of Pam Beesly. Turns out that sitting at a desk all day is not my forte. You can only read books and look at Instagram for so many hours before going a little crazy. Anyway, I remembered that I'd seen an ad online for a job at the Boys and Girls Club a while back so I searched and found the number to call. I got called back that night and was offered an interview. Two days later I was offered the job. I just am so thankful and so happy. And I don't think I even realize the impact this job is going to have not only on my future career as a teacher but on me as a person. It's only been one week and I already feel a change in myself and my attitude. 

(I made this super cute zebra mask and now that I've taken a picture of it I guess I can maybe bear to throw it away.)

Basically, Boys and Girls Club is a Nationwide program that gives kids a place to go during the day to participate in engaging activities and learning. Especially if their parents have to work all day, or their family doesn't have enough money to get a babysitter, it's a great way to avoid kids causing trouble in the streets. So my job is to plan and run activities throughout the day. I have to run a government funded program for 30 minutes (we learn about how to manage our money, we do math activities, etc.), 2-3 hour long activities that are pre-planned (usually some sort of craft and some sort of outside activity), and then 2 30 minute activities of my choice. It's a lot of time to fill and it's a big responsibility. My coworkers and I are their main examples and leaders for most of the day, and we don't know the kind of situations they may be in at home. I already feel the weight of this responsibility as I haven't been able to stop thinking about the kids all weekend. This is definitely a job that affects your life all the time, not just at work. Tanner is probably already sick of hearing about it. (Just kidding, he's not. He's the most supportive and best husband ever.)

                (Look at our tired, sunburned selves.)

The kids' first day was Wednesday and our supervisors warned us that it would be the hardest day. It was surprisingly doable, but so very exhausting. We made clay animals and played soccer and no one got lost so although I crashed on the couch as soon as I got home, I survived. The rest of the week also went pretty well and I'm already learning a lot of patience. It's frustrating when you have activities that you think will be way cool and fun and they want nothing to do with it. Who knew that 10 year old girls would think Frozen is lame? Hello! Even I want to make an Olaf puppet and I'm 20 years old. You're not allowed to not like it when you're 10. And getting kids to actually listen to you and participate and not just run around and hit each other is really hard. Especially when they don't know you and they want to be in charge. And some kids are just plain MEAN! Like I don't care if you're mean to me but please don't make the other kids cry. Also, no, you can't get a drink again you literally just got one five minutes ago. And PLEASE stop complaining. I know that it's hot, trust me, I'm sweating way more than you are. But good news now: we made paper plate animals and we colored pictures and we did jump rope (Cinderella dressed in yellow... Oh the memories) and we played UNO and we played an actual legit game of kickball (this was a miracle) and we watched Inside Out while making cute journals and the kids sat still for 5 minutes and actually listened to us explain some rules. YAY!!!

(Mine is definitely the butterfly that is not as cute as the turtles or rat/dog or snail)

(I'm in charge of the older group so 4th grade to 6th grade. I don't know why we're called the Fanz but we just are, so let's roll with it.)

(We obviously need to work on not "calling Maddison names" but the rest of the list is pretty good.)

Yes, it's a HARD job, and yes I am so tired but I am also so happy. Being called "Teacher Kenzie" is pretty cool. There are a few kids that I already love so much that my heart could explode. (The rest of them I'm learning to love haha.) I love hearing about their lives (one girl is going to the zoo this weekend! Lucky!) and I love when they realize that they can do things (a boy kept telling me that he wasn't good at things so we listed out things that he was good at and he said "I'm pretty good at kickball" which we had played earlier and it was so cute and yes he is good at kickball!) and when they're excited to be there ("Boys and Girls Club is the BEST!") and it's also pretty cool when they want to be in your group because obviously teacher Kenzie is the coolest ;) 

(My journal looks like it was made by a 5 year old but here's kind of a layout of how days go. Notice the stars and the highlights because my responsibilities have changed like seven times haha) 

I'm so excited for this summer and to learn to love these kids even more and I just want to be the best example I can be because I want them all to change the world, you know? And I'm excited for all the cool stuff we're going to make and the fun games we're going to play and I already know I'm going to bawl like a baby when the summer is over. But until then, here's to lots of painting and jumping jacks and friendships.