Aaron Fry's final service learning blog

My service learning site is at the Monroe YMCA, and I have worked with teenagers on teen night. Which is a night where teens can come to the YMCA and have fun in a safe place. At first I was a little nervous working with teens I was not sure if I would be able to make them obey the rules and have fun both at the same time. I also thought these kids would be spoiled little brats who would be hard to control. But the time I spent around these kids the more I realized that some of them are like the children in Pakistan who come from broken families. For instance there was one kid who I thought was more of a loner and so we hung out for a bit, and instead of being a little brat he turned out to be a pretty cool kid. And we had some fun together. So one thing I learned from these kids is that even though some of them probably came form a broken family does not mean that they are all mean little buggers. They just need someone who will take the time to talk and listen to them. Because of my work schedule I do not know if I will be able to participate in teen night again, but I do hope to help out somewhere in my hometown. I was thinking of volunteering at my churches youth group I am sure there are some kids there who would want my help. I guess I’ll just have to see how that plays out, but thing I have learned from the book as well as the service learning site is that the children of the next generation are our future, so we’d better to our best to educate them

Sometimes buildings are not just buildings

The book Three Cups of Tea, which was written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, is about a man who tries to educate young people who live in some of the poorest places in the world by building schools for them. In ways the Monroe YMCA, which is the place I have been volunteering at, is the same as the school that was built in Korphe, yet it is also different.

“ Long after all those rams are dead and eaten this school will still stand. Haji
Mehdi has food today. Now our children have education forever.” (pg. 153) These were the words Haji Ali spoke to his people concerning the school that was just built for their children. One way the Monroe YMCA and the school in Korphe differ is that YMCA can get better resources and the Korphe school must settle for what is donated to them. But whether these two places have differences or not, matters very little. As I volunteered at the YMCA I observed that it is not just a place for kids to gain knowledge, but is a place for kids to learn about themselves as well, just like the Korphe schoole. It may not be as bad as in Korphe, but there are some kids in Monroe who’ve had a hard time growing up as well. As you can see both places were made to be a safe place for kids to learn and have fun.

The fact is that both of these places as I have come to learn are not just buildings, but safe environments where young people can go to better themselves as well as have fun while they do it.