Stephen's Reflection

1. Today we helped out at the Veterans Hoptel. I was really surprised when we arrived, as I was expecting a much larger shelter-like building, but instead we pulled up to a small house in East Palo Alto. After receiving a tour of the house and the garden and meeting a veteran who lived there, we started to work. I started making thank you cards for people who have donated to the shelter, then I was in charge of filling out an attendance form to confirm all the volunteers who were there. I then helped out in the garden, planting cauliflower, lettuce, and a few other plants. Although somewhat laborious, the hardest thing we did was by far picking up all the trash that had been dumped in the field behind the house. I've never encountered so many horrid smells, and I had never in my life seen a crack pipe and needle casually laying in the dirt, but it did feel really good to see how much we had cleaned up by the end of it. 
2. My favorite part of today was cleaning up the trash. Although it was by far the most disgusting and most difficult, I enjoyed picking up the stuff that wasn't Swisher Sweets wrappers and underwear (there was a surprisingly large amount). Walking back onto the bus I saw how much we had cleaned and how much of a difference we had made since when we got there. That feeling was by far my favorite part.
3. From this experience i've really been exposed to how fortunate we are. I know that's super cliche, but it's true. Seeing the conditions of how the honorable people who serve our country and knowing that so many veterans are homeless or in extreme poverty is honestly gut-wrenching, and i'm so glad we were able to help even if it was in the tiniest ways.
4. In the future, I really hope to work with organizations like this again. I had a really amazing experience that I have never really had before. There was a mention of summer programs and similar things that we could take part in, and I would definatley help out in similar ways again and recommend it to others who want to make a difference as well.

Indira's Reflection

Sophomore Community Service Day: InnVision Network Hoptel

1. What we did . . .  in your own words, thinking literally, figuratively, metaphorically, what did we accomplish. Whatever you do, make the description go beyond the plain
2. My favorite part was . . .
3. Did you discover anything about yourself? Describe any emotional/gut-level reactions to the day.
4. In the future, I think . . . 

Today at the Hoptel, we learned the purpose of the home, and how much it helps veterans in the surrounding area.  We got a tour of the house, and the front and back yards.  Our main task was to plant a new vegetable garden in the backyard. There was four flour beds filled with zucchini, tomatoes and watermelons.  We replaced these vegetables with brussels sprouts, cilantro, basil, lettuce and cauliflower.  Have of us worked out in the garden while a small group went and cooked in the kitchen.  I worked in the garden, pulling out weeds and turning the soil.  After the group finished cooking, they came out and helped out with planting the vegetables.  Once we planted everything we had to go out behind the house and pick up trash.  Behind the house was an open hilly field filled with loads of trash.  Groups of us when out and picked up any trash we saw.  Some things we found were very unexpected.  We found numerous baby clothes, bags and food containers.  After we cleaned up as much as we could we gathered all the trash in bags and had a total of ten trash bags. 

My favorite part was planting all the vegetables.  This was really cool to see the transformation of all the plants in the yard.  It also made the backyard look very pretty with all the new thriving vegetables.

I discovered that people who run these types of homes have a lot of things to do in order for the house to function properly.  I realized it takes a lot of physical and mental strength for these people to do their everyday jobs. I knew i could never have this much energy and strength to do the things these people.

In the future, I think that I have to realize how much work goes into putting these things together. 

Amélie's Veteran's Hoptel Reflection

Sophomore Community Service Day: InnVision Shelter Network Hoptel

1. What we did . . . in your own words, thinking literally, figuratively, metaphorically, what did we accomplish. Whatever you do, make the description go beyond the plain.
2. My favorite part was . . .
3. Did you discover anything about yourself? Describe any emotional/gut-level reactions to the day.
4. In the future, I think . . . 

Today in the Hoptel, we picked the fruits and veggies out of the garden. There were zucchinis, tomatoes, watermelons and flowers. After we took all of these foods out, we uprooted and turned the soil over and planted more plants. We planted lettuce, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, cilantro, and basil. Some of us also dead headed the germaniums and pulled out weeds, trimmed the bushes, planted little flowers and picked up trash. The trash we picked up was horrifying, both in the amount and what it actually was. I would feel genuinely uncomfortable living next to a place where people treated the land like a dump. The trash ranged from clothes and napkins to drugs and feces. 

My favorite part was planting the vegetables and making the flowers pretty, because you could really see the end result. 

I discovered that while I enjoyed helping people in terms of the yard and landscaping, I definitely could not do what I did today for a living. I could work helping people in one of the other shelters, but this particular job would be physically and emotionally straining to work helping people going through such difficult times. Perhaps it was the drugs we found or the mental health and substance abuse issues, but I would not be strong enough to work that job. 

In the future, I will be ore appreciative of people working minimum wages and going through these issues in their lives. 

Darcy's Reflection

1. Today we volunteered at the Veteran's Hoptel. We took care of their garden by planting vegetables and flowers, trimmed bushes, raked leaves, watered plants and deadheaded flowers. We planted lettuce, cauliflower, basil, cilantro and brussel sprouts. We also cleaned windows and picked up trash at the end of the street. I think the people there appreciated the work we did a lot because it just makes the house feel more like a home.

2. My favorite part was planting the vegetables just because it was fun and unlike what we normally do.

3.  When we were picking up trash behind the road where many homeless people lived, we saw a lot of clothes, bags and bottles along with a broken tv. I realized that there was so much trash that people just lived in, and it made me more appreciative of what I have. 

4. In the future I will think more about where homeless people come from and how they all have a story like being in the army, or just having bad luck, and that they are normal people too.

Community Service Reflection-Henry Fortenbaugh

1.  Today we did a variety of different activities at the InnVision Shelter for veterans.  As a group we weeded, planted, picked up garbage, and tidied up the property.  We basically cleaned up the facility and made the environment much more friendly.  

2.  My favorite experience of the day was removing all of the weeds from the garden.  I thought this was fun because I love plants, and I liked how we had an opportunity for a hands on experience.  

3.  Today I didn't discover anything in particular about myself, but I realized how fun it was to help others.  I enjoyed the entire day as a whole, and I thought the experience was enriching as a whole.  I felt very emotional when one of the veterans said he was thankful for our services, and his words reminded me of why I was pulling weeds.  

4.  In the future, I believe that I will help more people.  Helping people is a win win experience, as others are better off and I am left with a sense of happiness and accomplishment.  I love helping other people, and overall, helping people is very rewarding and satisfying.

Community Service Reflection: Jack Swisher

Service Day Reflection: Jack Swisher

1.   Today at the Veteran's Hoptel, we worked to help improve the quality of life for veterans staying there while awaiting care from the VA. We weeded, planted, cleaned garbage, cooked, and tidied up the grounds. We continued our learning into the importance of service and what something small can mean to someone who needs help.

2.   My favorite part was weeding the plants and cleaning out the planter boxes in order to plant new seedlings. It was fun because I knew that what we were doing was for the greater good and could help provide happiness to people who need some cheering up.

3.   I didn't discover anything about myself, but I discovered quite a lot about an issue I wasn't aware of before today. I never realized how many veterans become homeless or can't find jobs to help support themselves and their families. I also saw how someone who was homeless can move from homelessness to prosperity with hard-work, dedication, and a bit of luck. 

4.   In the future, I think that I will try to help more people because there are lots of social injustices that exist that need volunteers to help conquer. In addition to the benefits that other people get from people volunteering, I also feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness from helping others. I want to continue to help people through community service and volunteer opportunities that are trying to make a difference.

Eliza's Reflection

1. Today, we went to the "Hoptel shelter" for Veterans and we helped to improve their garden, we cooked some dinner and dessert for them, we wrote some "thank you" cards, and we also picked up a lot of trash along the perimeter of the property. We tried to make the living conditions for these veterans better and hopefully our work benefitted the shelter in many ways. 

2. My favorite part of the day was planting the lettuce, basil, cauliflower and other plants in the garden outside the Hoptel. It was fun to see the direct change that we were making and hopefully the shelter will be able to use the vegetable that we planted.

3. I discovered how lucky I am to be able to live in a beautiful, safe part of town and attend an amazing school. We often take advantage of our opportunities and resources, but today made me more aware of the luxuries that we have access to.

4. In the future, I will have more gratitude towards the living veterans and the hard times that they often go through. I am now more aware of how just a day of service can really help and benefit many people. 

Max Gray's Reflection

1. Today, we went to a veterans hoptel. It was a place where veterans could sleep and get back on their feet. We made the people food, we gardened, we picked up the trash outside, and we met new people. 

2. My favorite part was cleaning outside. We got to walk around and find the most random things, even though it was dangerously uncleanly. I also really enjoyed using the hedge clippers on the bushes outside. 

3. I discovered that my piers and I are in a really lucky situation and most people get to experience what we have. It definitely feel good to give back once in a while. 

4. In the future I will definitely do more community service work and I will do my best to get others to follow.

Evan's experience

1. During this trip at the Hoptel we did a variety of things. For me, I dug through soil and planted different plants to make the front yard looking exceptionally pretty. It was hard work that got my hands dirty. Then we ate lunch and after that we picked up trash that was piling up behind the house.

2.  My favorite part was planting the flowers throughout the front yard. It was fun having to physically exert myself to plant these plants and in the end it will turn out to be a very good looking front yard. I also liked picking up the trash because we found many different interesting items that were thrown out. It was also a good feeling knowing that it was helping out the environment.

3. I did not really discover anything about myself during the actual trip, but watching the 30 day movie made me discover how easy my life is. In the movie these people were struggling so much living on minimum wage and I realized that I was not experiencing any of these struggles that anyone on minimum wage feels.

4. In the future, I think that I will be more grateful for what I am gifted with and won't take things for granted like I did previously.

Community Service Reflections - @ the Veterens Hoptel

Hi folks,
   Here's the template of what we'd like as a reflection, from each of you:

1. What we did . . . in your own words, thinking literally, figuratively, metaphorically, what did we accomplish. Whatever you do, make the description go beyond the plain.
2. My favorite part was . . .
3. Did you discover anything about yourself? Describe any emotional/gut-level reactions to the day.
4. In the future, I think . . . 

Each of you is both amazing and articulate. You're capable of producing a thoughtful, unique pieces of writing (think Holden Caufield) that help us understand who you are and your view of the world. 

You'll do a great deal of this type of writing over the next two years -- especially for college apps -- and, hopefully, it's also the kind of thinking that will shape all your meaningful life decisions. I'm really looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

--Randy