THIS DOG WON'T SIT DOWN.

But she insists on sitting in my lap and sniffing around on my laptop... and it doesn't help that she keeps trying to "help" me type... Then she looks at me like this:


What can I say, I fall for it. =3 She's too cute!

Anyway, Mr. Jackie Hendrix, owner of Party Pros and president of the Shoals Chamber of Commerce talked to us on the 15th. He started out by giving us a booklet and stating rather proudly that all of the people featured in it were volunteers. Mr. Hendrix told us that he has been volunteering since he was 19 or 20 years old (whoa, I'm that age right now...), and that he learned to network through his volunteering, which has helped him greatly throughout his life. In fact, his networking is what has brought him all of these positions  and jobs that he has held. All of his volunteering really looked well on his resumé, too.

Mr. Hendrix really encouraged us to give some of our time to volunteer, though it is tough. He explained about the 80-20 Rule, in which 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Sucks, if you ask me. If this world were perfect, 100% of us would do 100% of the work... right? (I am NOT a math person, but that seems right... and fair, too.) So other than to help out the 20%, we should get ourselves involved because:

• We have a social responsibility.
• It will advance our career, what with networking and all.

What was cool about this speaker was that he taught us how to make connections with people. He asked some of us where we were volunteering, and for pretty much everyone he asked, he knew someone in their organization. Example: when he asked me where I was volunteering, I answered with St. Vincent du Paul Thrift Store, to which he commented that his wife frequently donated items there. THEN... Vince said I'm Hugo's daughter.

BOY, did that start Mr. Hendrix up. He talked about how Dad is one of his great friends (something which a lot of people tend to say), an how he had been very supportive of the alcohol-for-sale-on-Sundays thing that passed several years ago... I remembered that time from Dad's point of view and just nodded along as Mr. Hendrix told his tale. 

 Many times, I tell people I'm my father's daughter and BOOM, celebrity-status-feeling to the MAX. Everyone knows my dad, it seems like. Honestly, I'm jealous that Dad's such a "celebrity." But when Mr. H talked about networking, I began to realize that instead of being jealous, I should be very grateful! I can definitely use my dad's connections to my advantage!!! 

"What do you want to be when you grow up?," asks Dr. John Lane.

Soon's 'at 'appens, I'll tell ya. I'm still such a kid. An almost-20-year-old kid...  

As for the question of why I'm in college...


Just kidding. It's because my parents said I had to go. Where else am I supposed to go? It's because I want a career. Yeah... Ok, so that gif is pretty accurate. I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, now or in the future.

So, Dr. Lane talked to us on the 8th about how we need to find a job that will work for us. But most of the time, he talked about our civic responsibility. This concept dates back to the ancient Romans. The citizens of the empire were to contribute to society by participating in it. Even today, this is what we should be doing: participating in society, especially by voting, volunteering, and giving.

Dr. Lane gave us some statistics to think about in regards to voting. He said that in the 1960's, about 63% of the population voted in the elections. Then, in the 1996 election, only 49% of Americans voted, meaning that about half the country was apathetic about their government. Nowadays, I don't even know how much of the American population does not care about the government, but I suspect that apathy among us as got way up. Our speaker told us that if we plan to make a change, we should start by voting, definitely in the national elections if not for the district and state ones.

The next subject was volunteering. As those of us who have already volunteered can say, it is a very rewarding thing to do. It feels great to know that you gave a little bit of your time to help others in need. Only about 20% of our population knows this feeling, however. Most of the people who volunteer are college grads in the age range of 35-54. I don't know what direction Dr. Lane was going in, but when he asked us why we thought these kinds of people were more likely to volunteer, one of my classmates answered that it was because they understand the importance of volunteering.

Dr. Lane talked then about some organizations that we could volunteer for, such as United Cerebral Palsy of Camp McDowell. He also gave as an example Billy Reid, famous designer and coincidentally Dr. Lane's brother-in-law.

The speaker said that giving didn't just have to consist of giving money, though "giving is more than money, but never less than money." Time and talent are abundant for us, and maybe one day, if we chose something we're good at, money will be a resource we can share as well.  

Dogsncatsndogsncats

This is pretty cool.

So I missed forum... for a really dumb reason...



And, yeah.


A Big Brothers Big Sisters spokesperson went to talk about the organization. Volunteers, among other things, get to hang out with kids who need someone to be a good example for them. Sounds like being an older sibling in real life. Which I am, to three sisters.


Oh, and a Chihuahua, I guess.

It's pretty amazing what kind of an influence we older kids can make on younger ones. I remember Valeria (the one sticking out her tongue) would always want everything "como Pao," or like Paola, the weirdo in the background (I say that as lovingly as possibly!). And Paola would copy Melissa and me ALL DAY. It was annoying when I was younger, but looking back, it was because the little sisters (as Melissa and I call them) looked up to us because we were their big sisters. Now these "little" sisters are ten and fourteen. Not only almost my height, but they are waaayy more grown up and less annoying, too. Ok, maybe not the last part. But still, they are still in need for role models, as are any kids their age. I figure if I've been a decent one to my own sisters, could I not be one for other kids?


All that said, I'm going to contact BB/BS and ask what kind of help they need.