Author: scottc

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The end is the begining

Hello All,

I wanted to take the time to write some closing words about my personal experiences in the Gulf Coast this week.  I know that all week, much of the stuff that has been written has been about the destruction that took place down there and all of the things that have been lost in the storm over three years ago.  Two things that I have taken from the trip is not about the destruction, but what has blossomed as a result of the destruction.  Those things that have blossomed are the human spirit, and a renewed sense of belief in the college student.

There was a lot of spirit in those storm victims.  Amongst all of the things that have gone wrong down there from the lack of help from insurance companies to corrupt city officials who actually made money off of the desaster, these people still forge on with a smile on their face, a song in their heart and recipies for good gumbo on their mind.  They love to see volunteers and I was personally treated with respect from those whose houses I wasn’t even working on.  If nothing else, that area has a lot of love to offer and that was enough for me to cherish this experience forever.

As for my belief students, you have to understand, I have always believed in the potential of students.  Whether or not they met that potential was totally up to them.  The main reason that I fulfilled my dream of becomoing a student affairs professional, which is an odd dream to have in the first place, was to help students meet that potential.  Unfortunately, as I have gone up in the ranks, the majority of what I have seen is the bad side of students.  What made this trip important to me was that I got to spend time with an exceptional group of students whom I may not have had any contact with if I haden’t been a last minute replacement in the advisor position which makes me actually pretty lucky.  I was not the only lucky one at Camp Coast Care either.  There were countless numbers of people from Virginia, Minnesota and Conneticut who came to me frequently telling me what a joy it was to work with these students.  They continuously told me that the future is going to be a great place because we will have students like these leading us and I could not agree more.  Then, these folks would go on to thank me for bringing them, at that point I had to stop and say, “They brought me.”  These students did all of the work and they did a great job, for that I say thank you.  Thank you for not only downgrading and bringing me along on this trip, but for also helping me to see the good in students once again.  Hopefully I do not sound too much like Whitney Houston by saying that you are the future and I feel pride knowing that you all have and will make large contributions to our society.  Also, I wanted to let you know that just because our short journey has ended it does not mean that we will part ways.  Rashidah, Christy, Ryan, Nick, Kelly, Chris, Monica, Jeff, Pooja, Donna and of course Zoe, you are all my friends and I hope that you all feel the same towards me.  Besides, we all sat under the “Friendship Tree” so we are kinda obligated now.  Take care and thanks for reading.

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Amazing Grace

No, this title does not refer to my boss. It has a whole other meaning. What meaning does it have? Read along and I’ll tell you.
I have been very lucky on this trip so far. I know that people are likely fine ding that hard to believe since reading my other postings, but it is true. First, I got assigned to an awesome group. Second, I got to meet the owners of the house that we worked on and they are the sweetest people ever. Last, I have been lucky enough to actually finish a project which is something that I did not expect. At the end of the project, we did the strangest thing… we sang Amazing Grace. Apparently, it is customary for people to sing at the end of a project down here. It serves as closure on the project and I really liked it. I have finished a ton of projects in my time, but I never sang when I finished, I just moved on to another project. Well, that’s about to change baby! I will now begin to sing when I finish something. For example, when I finish a conduct case and I am finished writing the letters, I might sing “signed, sealed, delivered” or when I am finished getting dressed I’ll sing “I feel pretty”. Please help me by giving suggestions on things that I would likely finish and a song that I could possibly sing to mark the occasion. Until next time.

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We the people

Hello, it’s me again. Typically I am opposed to using technology to express my true feelings about a subject, but this is somehing that I really have to get off of my chest and plus it gives me the chance to get on my soapbox for a few sentences, or paragraphs. I also understand that the folks who will be reading this are not the people who need to be reading this. My hope is that you pass it on to someone who may be able to relate to what I am about to type. Here it goes.
As we were working on a client’s house today in Long Beach, the folks were nice enough to cook us some outstanding homemade gumbo… yummy. After we were done eating and chatting a bit, I gave the lady who cooked the food a hug. She held me close and told me that she was so happy to see “one of us” here helping. After we separated, she went on to tell me that she has seen hundreds of volunteers come and go, but has not seen many blacks with the groups, but that it feels really good when she does see a “familiar” face or too. I thought about it for a second and I am the only black man here out of 100 people. Yes, I am the Blair Underwood character on Sex in the City. This is something that really does not bother me because I am used to it, but it is put into perspective for me when it is pointed out sometimes. What happened next was that she asked me, with water in her eyes, “why don’t we help one another?” Hmmm, interesting question. I shared my thoughts with her, and I think I will now share those thougts with you.
Easy answer… we’re lazy! We just have better things to do than help build houses or clean up or just give anyone a hand in general. This is not the answer of course. People are lazy no matter what color they are, but I can see some people thinking this way.
Not so easy answer, we don’t know what’s still going on down here. It is not in our face anymore and therefore we neglect the issue. I am guilty of this myself. When I found out that this trip was going to Mississippi, I was like “are’t things like fixed by now?”. I quickly found out that it isn’t.
Difficult answer, we HATE each other. I know that this is a hard pill to swallow for some, but society brainwashes minorities to hate themselves. Just take a look at TV every once in a while. If there is a black guy on trial on Law in order… he’s guilty. If there is a drive by shooting in a movie, it’s in a minority neighborhood. The next time you are listening to rap music (Kevin W.), count how many times you hear a rapper talking about bustin’ a cap in an inside trader or a corrupt politician. The answer… 1-2 maybe. Ok, count how many times the rapper talks about bustin’ a cap in nother African American. This number will be seemingly infinate.
With so many degrading images and stereotypes that are, in some cases, perpetuated by us, why would anyone like us? Why would we like ourselves? Better yet, why would we help someone that we, consciously or subconsciously, hate?
Bottom line, I have said it before and I will say it again, these people still need help. It feels good to them that people care about them enough to travel to their homes to help them, but it would feel even better if their “brothers and sisters” are chipping in as well.

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New Experiences

Baby Aligators look like little Hasbro toys. I saw one today and I really just wanted to pick it up and hug him. What changed my mind was the fact that he would probably have eaten my face if I touched him. I begin my blog with the above statement to prove a point about how things aren’t always what they look like and that evereything is not always as it may seem. What drove this point home was our visit to the 9th Ward in New Orleans this evening. I had though that the rehabilitation of the area was going well and that everything was better. Why? Probably because the effects of Katrina are not really talked about anymore. People have gone on with their lives, even here. As we were driving the main road to get into the lower 9th, we were looking at the damaged that had been caused by the storm, people were just shooting by us in their cars as if it were a normal day and a regular situation. It appears that those are normal conditions to those who live there. It was sad to see that a neighborhood that was so rich in tradition and heritage now looks like something completely indescribable.
For me to sit here and try to describe it to anyone in a blog is meaningless because there is nothing to describe it. I will say this, there was nothing there… nothing. Sure there were a few families still hanging on to their property and working to rebuild, but for every house that was rebuilt there were 7-10 that were no more. The only things left to remind anyone that they even existed were some gates and steps that led to nothing. The roads were not even roads. Avenues looked like mud pits. And, I believe that the saddest part is that much of the place looked like the floods just happened 6 months ago because nothing was cleaned up and the debris was still laying around. Again, there were just those few resilient neighbors trying to hang on to their homes which, in some cases, is the only thing they have.
Now that I have depressed you, let me add that everything that we do helps and we ARE remembered for it. Our tour boat captain told us today that they would still be underwater if it weren’t for volunteer work. It is important that we do not forget that our brothers and sisters in the Gulf Coast still need our help and that we do not forget about them just because their stories are not splattered all over out TVs anymore. Personally, the things that I saw today will keep them in my thoughts and prayers forever.