I grew up in Northern California. Typical kid, nothing too exciting happened in my life. But everything always seemed a bit more difficult for me than other kids...emotionally. I was very self conscious and often jealous of others. This is still true to some extent. I am mostly jealous now of happy people who lead easy lives. But you never know what is really happening in someone else's world. So...don't judge a book by it's cover.
My elementary, junior high, and high school years were filled with friends, mediocre grades, and band. I was never great at school, not sure why. I would love going to school, but the education portion...ya know, the important part, was never my focus. I wanted to hang out with my friends and drink soda with chips during lunch. My mom pushed me to join band and I enjoyed it from middle school until senior year. Again, I was not very good at it like studying. It got me through high school though. I loved going to practice and being a part of something special. I will always remember my high school band teacher, Mitch Bahr, for being one of the most passionate teachers I ever had. Aside from being a great influence in the classroom, he always helped students in his office during lunch or breaks. He is an example of what a teacher should be.
Later, I went to college because that is what you are "supposed" to do. It took me five years, not surprising. My major was art history because I found it interesting and I thought it would be easy to get some fabulous job in San Francisco after I graduated. Wrong. You need a PhD to get almost any job in a museum, unless you want to work in a gift shop for $10 an hour or volunteer for free. I struggled, then and now, with a plan for my life. I went back to an old job, then upgraded to the local optometrist office. This ended being a horrible decision. The job was fun and interesting, most of the time, but the doctor was a self righteous prick that tired to push religion on me during a review.
A week for two after I walked out on that job, I was accepted into AmeriCorps VISTA. I would serve as School Buddies Coordinator for an elementary school in Anacortes, WA. What an adventure?! I eventually served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for three different terms in three states, but not consecutively. I took a break between year two and three to work at a horrible construction company and my favorite job at a local irrigation company.
My first year in Washington was amazing. I found my passion in life was to work with young children. I wanted to help them, so they could achieve whatever they wanted to in life. My goal as a VISTA in that particular position was to match "troubled" students with community members that mentored them once or twice a week. The students loved their alone time with this new role model. Most of the students had issues at home which led to issues in the classroom. I also helped in a first grade classroom and managed volunteers for a morning activity hour, plus an hour study time at lunch. I loved this job more than anything else I have done. But Washington was not for me, while it was very beautiful, it was always cold.
So, I decided to do another year of AmeriCorps to help pay my off my student loans. Yes, that is right AmeriCorps will pay your students loans or give you move for future education. I was accepted an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader this time in Fresno, California. I was very excited to come back to California, but I had never been to Fresno and was warned that it was not the nicest place. I agreed with everyone, at first, but it grew on me. My position this time was team leader. I assisted the program manger with her 10 VISTA members at different sites. This position was also fulfilling and challenging. Never thought I would enjoy facilitating meetings.
When this position ended, the staff made me believe I would be hired as the volunteer coordinator but they picked someone from the outside. I always thought that was a poor decision on their part, but you cannot change people's minds...ever. So, I was out of a job and did not know what to do next. Unfortunately, Fresno does not have a great job market. I eventually found a job at a construction office, which was the worst job I have ever had. I only worked their nine months and was eventually poached by a local irrigation company.
Who knew I would ever work in agriculture, but I actually really enjoyed. This position started off a bit rocky. I was incredibly sick my first week, their was girl drama, but I was promoted from Administrative Assistance to Customer Service very quickly. I got the hang out things, eventually, and started doing orders. The people at this company were absolutely amazing. That is true about every job I have had, even if the job sucks and the boss yells at you, there is always someone there who has your back. The ladies at J helped me through hard times in the spring of 2016 and I could never thank them enough. I left in November of 2016 to pursue a relationship in Arizona...we will get back to that later.
AmeriCorps, here I am again! I was moving to Phoenix for other reasons but I wanted to get my foot back in the door of nonprofits. So I applied to a few AmeriCorps VISTA positions and was hired almost immediately to SMC. This was a great organization, but not enough to do through my year. I did not really learn any new skills, which was disappointing. I did, again, meet some amazing individuals. Things did not work out in Arizona, much to my disappointment.
So, here I am again in Fresno. California is my home and I will always end up here. Currently, looking for a job, healing emotionally, and waiting for a kidney. My life, so far, has been interesting and I need to remind myself that I have been much for fortunate that others. Most people do not get the adventure of living in three different states and working for nonprofits before turning 30. Even though I am facing a life threatening illness and will always have to deal with it, I can rise above it and still lead an interesting life.