Just Kidding, One More Thing

   So I forgot to mention one thing that I think is really important when it comes to my service.  Since one of the big discussions we had in class was about whether we'd continue with our service work at all I feel like I should mention something.
     I knew for sure that I'd continue volunteering at Bridgepointe by the end of the semester, but I wanted to think of a way that I could take it a step further and do more for them than just volunteer a few hours every week.  Last time I volunteered I came up with an idea that I hope is going to be a success.
     So there is this old man at Bridgepointe who wheels himself up to the nurses station every day and asks if he has any "letters, phone calls, or telegrams."  Every time I had to see the nurses tell him "no" and see the disappointment on his face it killed me a little inside.  So I decided to contact both Bridgepointe and my English teacher from high school to suggest an idea.  Students could get writing practice and help out the community by writing letters to the residents and they could get a sort of pen pal.  If I've seen any issues at Bridgepointe a big one is that the residents get very lonely sometimes.  These letters could help them feel less lonely and I'm sure it would help.  I haven't gotten everything for it figured out yet but I'm really excited about it.
    Since I get home for Christmas break much earlier than the local schools in my town do, I'll have time to talk with teachers and try to figure something out for next semester.  I really hope it works out because I feel like it would make the residents so happy!

Last Thoughts

     I can't believe we're already done for the semester!  This is crazy to me.  I have to say that  this class was by far my favorite.  I'm in a science major and having my one and only non science class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday kept me sane!  I will admit that I was not expecting the class to be how it was.  I've mentioned in class before that my English classes in high school were all about structure and book reports.  Although very different, I welcomed the change I experienced in this english class. I found that writing papers was much easier when I didn't have to constantly worry about not using the word "it" or failing the whole assignment if I had one comma splice.
     I would have to say that my favorite thing about the class was how flexible it was.  I think the best part of that was how Professor Reimer took our ideas into consideration when planning the daily lessons instead of just following the book word for word everyday.  This made me actually want to come to class and I always had a good time.
     Although not my favorite part of the course, I was glad that some of our assignments required using technology.  It's no surprise to any of you that I am not technology savvy, but I will say that this course has helped me expand my knowledge in that area a little (no matter how frustrating).
     And lastly I guess I'll talk about the service.  I really REALLY did not want to do this at first.  But now I'm so glad that I did.  I certainly changed my mind about my perspective on service work and I'm really glad this course helped me to do so.  I can definitely say that this course was well worth it and I would recommend it to others.