- Katherine
I can honestly say I truly enjoyed our activities today. I enjoyed learning about the AXS app and finding out there are many ways to help others without it being a lot of work or out of our way. I feel like we are on our phones so much throughout the day and we go to so many places that it should be very simple to do a quick review that could end up helping a lot of people. I also want to educate more people about the app, people who need to use it and people who can add to it. Although it has been around for some time I do not think a lot of people really know about it, I had never heard of it or even thought of something like it before today and I think it can be very useful and beneficial to a large variety of people.
Another activity we did today was the fast-friends, 36-question activity. I had a lot of fun with this activity and learned a lot about Hannah. I enjoyed the openness and trustworthy environment this activity presented to us. It allowed me to see that I am not alone in my issues and that taking time to sit and talk about them with someone can alleviate some tension within yourself. I think this is a great activity for old friends, new friends, relationships, strangers and families, this allowed us to be open and invite someone in. As stated in debrief I think we are a very closed off people, despite how much we may let people it there is still a lot we don’t let them see and I think this activity provided the questions necessary to open us up and eased us into the discussion. Many people stated these were conversations that do not just happen but are necessary and I fully agree with that; I think by completing this activity or similar ones we are truly able to learn more about ourselves and the people around us. This is an activity I am saving and I am going to try to do it with those close to me (family and friends) so we can open doors that need to be opened.
So far I am enjoying the trip, I have appreciated and enjoyed the documentaries we watched and the parts of the podcasts that I heard. I am learning a lot about a community that is often ignored and not given the respect they deserve. I see myself for one continuing to become much more in tune with myself and who I am, while also learning about others and learning how to efficiently and effectively communicate with people of a variety of backgrounds. I am excited to go into the schools and programs this week, I am excited to gain first-hand knowledge about this community and learn about ways to make their lives easier. I also want to learn how to better educate others about this community and learn what they want people to know about them. I want to be able to give them a voice they may not feel like they have in society.
I appreciate the University of Maryland, Alternative Breaks for having a program that puts us in these different scenarios that prepare us for all the communities in the world and open our eyes to what really makes up our surroundings. I think it is easy for us to think we know about everything going on around us, but through Alternative Breaks we get a better, more valid understanding of our surroundings and I believe that helps us grow as individuals and helps us to better our community.
-Morgan
