A reflection on my progress

My Sentence:

Brought a new club to Chinquapin that showed what Quid Quo Pro is really about.

Am I better now than I was at the beginning of the school year?

I don’t think I am better now than I was yesterday or in August. I have had nowhere near enough time to work on this project and keep up with my 8 other classes—along with college applications. At the beginning of the school year, I had hoped to accomplish a lot more. I didn’t expect to be doing so poorly in my classes. I didn’t expect to be in the middle of December stressing about whether I’m going to get into a college or even graduate. This project would be great to do, if I were at public school. It has a good idea; however, I don’t believe it has any business being forced on a senior class that is already overwhelmed.

I don’t think I am better than I was yesterday because I don’t feel better. I felt as if I’ve lost more this year. I no longer feel the same joy in going to class. I now feel a sense of dread inside me. I feel as though this class has contributed to the lack of feeling I feel. Currently, I’m in a state of discomfort because of the atmosphere I’m constantly in. My classmates are no longer the same people they were at the beginning of the year. They share the same dreadful feelings I have. It would be easier to move forward with this project if I didn’t know that it was bringing down my whole class

What skills or habits of mind have I learned?

I’ve learned that sometimes people are forced to do things they don’t want to do and that I just need to keep going. I’ve learned that in the future, I may be working at an office job I hate, and that I’m going to be forced to do things I don’t like. This class is the quintessential example of what I fear my future will be like. I would like to not end up at a job in which I try to “just get through” no matter how miserable I am working there. This class and this project have really helped in making me get used to a situation that I might be stuck in later. I am praying that I never get stuck doing a job I hate, but it’s a good thing that this class prepares me just in case.

How have I grown?

I don’t necessarily know if I’ve grown. It seems more like I’ve been hindered by this project. The only way I can see that I’ve grown is by being able to handle a lot more stress. My will and strength have grown. I’m amazed by how much I can handle now. I don’t think in the past years I would have been able to keep going. I think this project—and this year in general—has been a test for me. It has been testing my tolerance/patience. Before, I would have just given up, but now I’ve learned to keep dragging myself along.

What steps have I taken towards executing my plans?

So far, I have done research about what I want the meetings to be about. I’ve selected what I think the girls need to know, and have added other things that might be useful to know about. We now have a timeline for our club to start next semester. Hopefully all goes smoothly.

Our Book Club

Another thing I've decided for the ladies to do is start a book club. I would like to read Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi and The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Unbearable Lightness is a novel about a girl who suffer through anorexia and deals with issues teenage girls face now (such as being pressured to be exactly as the women portrayed in the media look like). Persepolis is a graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran. It'll really help the Ladies see what a girl their age went through in another country. The only obstacle I see is getting money to buy the books for the girls. However, as long as we have a goal, we can figure out how to accomplish it.
I would really like for the girls to read these books in order to get different perspectives of the world. Unbearable Lightness is written by actress Portia de Rossi--I really suggest reading the description of the book on Amazon. I honestly cannot wait to read it. Persepolis I've already read, but I would definitely be willing to read it more than once. It's about an Iranian girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution. Both books are memoirs, but Persepolis is written in comic strips. I really loved Persepolis and I really felt like I could relate to the girl in the novel even though she lived in a different place and at a different time. I hope the ladies really learn from both books.

Learning Seminars

So, my first decision for the Ladies of Chinquapin is to have learning seminars that I feel will truly benefit the girls. We should have four of these seminars and each will focus on teaching about one of the following: Self Esteem, Sex, Success and Etiquette. I want to focus on these topics and have the ladies informed on how to have a higher self esteem, use protection, strive for their goals and act during formal events. Learning these skills are essential to their futures.

Self esteem is always a big issue with girls my age. I have problems with my self esteem all the time, and I know it will be a big help for girls to learn how to deal with their self esteem. Sex is a topic that many girls might be uncomfortable talking about, but it's very important that girls my age learn about using protection and having safe sex.

Not only do I want the girls to learn about personal issues, but about issues they may face in the future--more professional topics. In one of my previous posts I had a TEDTalk by Sheryl Sandberg and she discusses three obstacles women in the workplace face and how to overcome them. Our seminar on success should be similar to this. Another important factor of the professional world is networking. I know that I have no idea how to network, behave at formal events, or dress for the workplace. The etiquette session should address all of these things.

Now that it's decided what our informative seminars will be about, the next step is to find someone to lead these sessions. I would like to get in contact with someone that would be willing to volunteer to lead these seminars. However, if we can't find anyone, then Ale and I would be willing to try to lead them. The important thing, is that the ladies learn how to overcome any issues they are dealing with or might deal with and that they get questions answered here because they might not be able to talk to their parents about it.

The Reason

At Chinquapin, we used to have a club called Womans Group. It brought the older girls together and helped us to not feel as if we're alone. We found we shared similar problems and had the same insecurities. The girls in Womans Group were there for one another. Unfortunately, this club gradually disappeared. My classmate and I plan to bring this club back, but to make it even greater. It's going to be a place where older girls can learn to build their self-esteem, reach for their goals, and inform one another on different issues. It'll be a place for the girls to grow closer and try to better themselves along with their communities.

We expect to do a lot of research on what types of activities the group should do together. We want the girls to bond and have fun, but we also feel that they should learn skills that would be useful in the future. We'd like to take suggestions from the girls about what they would like to do. In the past years we had Career Days, took cooking classes and participated in open discussions. We learned that Young Womans Group took an etiquette class and had a book club; our club can do that, too. Since we'll be the older girls, we can discuss subjects that are more mature and important in our lives. We've been trying to get in contact with past teachers that were in charge of Woman's Group and Young Woman's Group to see how they organized they're events. We're hoping that they can help us get in contact with people that are willing to contribute to our club.

I believe that Alejandra Badillo and I are qualified to undertake this project because we were members of Woman's Group. Since we're seniors, it's our duty to look for ways to improve our community and have a positive influence on the other students. We know other teachers that were involved in this and we're motivated to bring this club back. However, we'd like to change the name to Ladies of Chinquapin. We'd like to create a new club that incorporates characteristics from Woman's Group and we're determined to create Ladies of Chinquapin for the older girls in our community.

Liszette Mariely Garcia, President and Founder.
Address:
8325 Bassett St.
Houston, TX 77051
Cell Phone Number: 832-622-4961
Blog: http://liszette2012.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.wix.com/marielyatzell/ladiesofchinquapin

Planning it out

I thought this TEDWomen Talk from Sheryl Sandberg--the COO of Facebook--is kind of what we want Ladies of Chinquapin to be about. We'd like for the women in our community to strive to achieve their goals and not be afraid to speak out. Sandberg does a great job of explaining how women shouldn't undersell themselves, shouldn't let fears about the future deter them, and shouldn't be afraid to rely on their spouse.



I don't want Ladies of Chinquapin to revolve completely around business, but I think Sandberg has a lot to say about women in general--not just in the workplace. These are the type of ideals I'd like for Ladies of Chinquapin to teach.

Baby Steps

During the summer, I decided that I would create a movie. I planned for it to be an hour long, move my audience and give a feeling of accomplishment to all those would have helped. However, I've now changed my idea.
While riding on the bus, Ana and I began to discuss our senior project. She wanted to help teenage girls that were going through the same issues she went through. She was forced to face her problems on her own, and didn't want someone else to do the same. I asked her who she would help. The girls in Houston? The girls in Denver Harbor? She didn't know. So, I suggested she start with the girls in our Chinquapin community.

Now, there was already a group like this at Chinquapin not too long ago. Ana and I began to reminisce about the days of Women's Group. The girls went to a career day together, took an italian cooking class together, and had planned many more activities. Unfortunately, the group began to fade away my 9th grade year, in 10th grade it was just a shadow of it's former self, and by 11th grade there wasn't a trace of the group left.

We found this really heartbreaking because we felt there was a strong need for Women's Group. Yes, there's a Young Women's Group for the middle school girls (and this has been extremely helpful for the younger girls on campus), but there's nothing for the older girls at Chinquapin. We need help and guidance, too. We still need support and advice. We're still confused about things in life.

Although Ana had decided to take her project in a different direction, our conversation really stuck with me. It affected me so deeply that I decided to change my project altogether. So, I have partnered up with another classmate, Ale, and we've decided to bring the Ladies of Chinquapin to our community.