Pre-Service Orientation Reflections

I stumbled upon random writings I did while at Pre-Service Orientation in Lombard, Illinois for my AmeriCorps*VISTA term.   I thought I would share highlights of what I recorded from that weekend in mid-June of this year, before I started at my organization.

The most impactful time from yesterday was the opportunity to sit in a circle and talk about our experience with poverty.  Some people had very real and honest experience in generational poverty, and I was blown away by their presence at PSO; their effort to simultaneously emerge from the cycle and their desire to help others do the same.  Others had no experience with poverty, even lacking experience discussing the issue to discover the varied causes of poverty.  These fellow VISTAs expressed they didn’t realize poverty wasn’t in just Africa, but it was an invisible problem in their backyard.  It was a curious theme, the invisibility.  Money, class, and even the state of being in poverty can be both very visible and very hidden at the same time.  I was amazed to learn that everyone saying they grew up in poverty never knew they were poor.   Their parents hid it from them, and they assured the group they would do the same for their kids.  All want a better life for their children, yet all are hiding the facts.  I wonder what would happen if these parents had honest conversations about their financial situation.  Would the kids be able to grasp it and us it as a catalyst to dream big and “get out” of the cycle?  OR would it continue to be a “this is how it is” situation, with acceptance in early childhood and complacency?  There’s always these what if questions and I always want to take action on them to see if changing the current can change the future.  I do have to remember this doesn’t stay a discussion, a theory, or a simple curious question.  It’s a life, and it’s not even my own. 

On the way home from Illinois a huge storm came through the airport.  I was in a tiny plane, stuck on the runway for about 1.5 hours.  We had to finally go back to the airport, where I happily rewarded my misfortune with an Oreo McFlurry.  When we finally boarded and were cleared for an alternate route back to Ohio, all the passengers erupted in cheers and applause.  On take-off, I kid you not, people put their hands in the air and cried “whee” as if we were on a roller coaster.  A couple minutes into the flight the stewardess told us to hold tight, she’ll be coming around with those “drinks” the guys were asking for when we were stranded.  A weird sense of community is formed in these situations, any attempt at humor is a relief from the frustration.  We were like a big, grumpy, cramped, slap happy United (Airlines) family.