Life's about the journey...

…not the destination.  We’ve all heard this, or something like it, before.  Today, John, Cara, and I experienced a quite tangible example.  While Zach and Julie are off leading a service trip for Verb, the three of us took off for Topanga State Park where we hiked for about 7 miles.  Going into the trip, we knew it wasn’t the best day to hike to the Parker Mesa Overlook, but that didn’t stop us. Despite the excessive fog, we started our climb.  When we finally reached the overlook, huffing and puffing, we were about 1,300 feet higher than we started. We were also, quite literally, in the clouds. I’m sure the promised view is magnificent on a clear day, but today all we saw was fog.  We’ll have to go back sometime to see what all the excitement is about, but for today, the trip was about the journey: a couple hours, a couple community-mates, a couple miles, and a couple snacks.  It was a combination of great exercise, time to get away from the city (although, fun fact: Topanga is the only State Park completely in a city’s limits!), and something like an adventure.

There's a lot more mountain behind those clouds!

A very happy John and Cara back at the car

Hiking was an appropriate weekend activity after our Spirituality Night this week, where Cara walked us through the Native American Medicine Wheel. The wheel is comprised of the four directions, each of which is associated with a natural element, animal, and series of personality traits. We took time to reflect on each of our personalities, and how they work together to form a balance within our community.  (If you’re curious, I am a “deer,” represented by the South, and known as the “keeper of the heart.”)  At least one description fit each of us really well, but we also commented on how we can be different ‘directions’ in different situations.  The whole exercise was good affirmation of the balance within our community, and also allowed us to discuss good ways that differing personality types can work together.

I think that Carolyn the deer at home is very different from Ms. Z at work.  There is no doubt that I take on some North/West qualities when trying to control my ever-more rowdy kids.  I’m not really one for raising my voice, but I go home from work most days with a sore throat from trying to get their attention.  Also, in the midst of the controlled chaos of each afternoon, I sometimes lose sight of where my students are from, simply because they act so, well, normal.  Yes, I know normal doesn’t really exist, but kids are kids no matter where they are. The positive and nurturing environment we try to provide at Urban Compass lets them be kids – for better or for worse – each day.  This means they will still fight with me if they don’t want to do their homework or will be brutally honest and tell me when my hair looks bad.  They are defiant and annoying and loving and hilarious and hard on themselves and mean to each other and simply delightful.  On Tuesday, I had to sit two different groups of students down to ‘have a conversation’ about how they were treating each other on the playground.  I don’t know how effective I was, but by intervening I show them a. that I care and b. that what might fly at school or home will not fly with us. 

Now, Friday: Yesterday was the end of Latino Heritage Month.  The celebration has been going on all month at the Verb and culminated yesterday in a mass with a special Latino flare: music in Spanish, bilingual readings, and a special student reflection. Fr. Scott from Dolores Mission came to say mass.  At the beginning, the names of all the Latin American countries were called out, and students would stand to represent where they or their families were from.  Most were from Mexico and Central America and a few of the islands.  Afterward, some parents donated a delicious meal of Tamales and rice.  (A HUGE perk of being a JV is that we are the first to get leftovers…yum!)  The celebration was topped off by a Mariachi band that performed at the end of mass and during lunch.  Best. Day. Ever.