Baking A Cake

            I loved working in the Optimist Park neighborhood throughout the semester.  The people were welcoming to the idea of collecting their history and making it available to others.  I learned so much about citizenship and the tremendous impact it has on your surrounding environment including the people in it.  If it had not been for this class I would not see citizenship in a positive light.

            Before this class, I had the typical idea of what citizenship was.  I felt that voting in elections, volunteering with local services every now and then, and being supportive of those services was all that portraying citizenship required of a person.  I did not see any real reason to actively pursue these ideas.  I thought that there were plenty of other people out there in society who were doing these things so they would not need me.  I was playing upon the concept of free riding.  I assumed that others would pick up my slack and I could still reap the benefits from their actions.

            Citizenship is not about the material things though.  Citizenship is about the way you interact with others in the community and how you go about helping them.  Optimist Park residents did not want random people coming into their community and trying to change it.  They valued the fact that our class came in with the attitude of how can we help you.  We asked them what they wanted/needed from us.  Miss Simuel needed maps outlying the boundaries of Optimist Park at one time to take to a meeting regarding the signs for the community.  Local officials were stalling her efforts since Optimist Park and NODA were in contention over a bordering street.  The history group I was a part of was able to help provide these maps for her.  We joined in the fight with the neighborhood instead of fighting against them. 

            Our class took the time to get to know members of the community through the oral history project.  Each group was able to sit down with an individual and hear their story of the neighborhood through their eyes.  Everyone has a different experience and opinions regarding specific events.  In my particular interview, I was able to fully understand how far the community has come over the years.  People may have come and gone but the sense of pride within Optimist Park has grown.  They all care about one another and the safety of their community.  They want Optimist Park to be seen as a wonderful place and to not be industrialized, commercialized, or stripped away. 

              I think this is the most important part of citizenship; realizing what others need from you instead of assuming what they need.  We do not want others to tell us what to think or do for ourselves, so why would a community feel any different.  Community members know what is best since they spend all of their time there.  They have insight and connections that an outsider would have no access to.  In displaying citizenship, it is important to know that it comes across easier than you would think.  People can tell your feelings just from the look on your face.  A smile can brighten up someone’s day especially when they feel that their government is trying to take their community away.  Citizenship is all about working together towards one goal.  We all may have differing opinions and come from all types of backgrounds but in order to accomplish anything significant we have to work as one united group. 

              I enjoyed learning all of the interesting information that the oral history interviews provided.  I was the one who conducted the interview in my partnership which was extremely out of my comfort zone.  I do not like talking to strangers and when I become nervous I pause, stutter, back track, and even lose my train of thought.  I decided to embrace the experience though and look to better myself when it comes to these types of situations.  My interviewee was so patient and kind that it definitely made the process ten times easier.  I appreciated her openness in discussing a nontraditional childhood that leads to explain the strong willed personality that she displays today.  Her thoughts regarding ways to better the community were also very helpful.  She told of different ideas she had on how to get more residents involved in the neighborhood and ways to reach out to them.  Her ideas would definitely be helpful for the community leaders as well as any future classes that work in Optimist Park.  Since the interview was an oral history, all of her ideas are recorded allowing the potential for even outside sources to hear and act upon them.

              Homelessness was another concept that stood out to me during this community service experience.  I had no idea how big of an issue it is in today’s society.  In my hometown, homelessness is rarely seen.  Most people living in town are active duty military so they have a steady paycheck coming in along with plenty of funds to support a family.  Then once they retire, they move back home to be with their relatives.  This community service course provided me the knowledge that a lot of military veterans are thrown into poverty and homelessness as well as families.  I had the same mindset as many others today in believing the stereotype that homeless people are only single white men.  I never thought to imagine families or veterans out on the streets. 

Learning about homelessness really opened my eyes to all of the potential areas that there are in the world today to make a difference.  There are so many people and communities that are in dire need of services and support.  Experiencing one of these communities first hand and learning about other places like the shelter that are being pushed to move for profit making purposes was extremely thought provoking.  It makes me want to go out in these communities and make a difference.  It shows that there is a push by the government to isolate these individuals even more. This push only makes it more difficult for them to receive supportive services.  Everyone likes to talk about how homeless or impoverished individuals are not productive parts of society.  This comes from the fact that they are not given access to services that would allow them to be productive.  Society is continuously making it more difficult for them to bounce back while simultaneously complaining that it is not being done fast enough.  This disparity is a huge issue that I do not think many people are aware of.  I know that I was not knowledgeable on the information prior to this community service experience. 

             Community service is a component of citizenship but does not make up its entirety.  Citizenship involves many different parts of supporting a community or individual like clean up, replanting, outreach, increasing growth, or like this class did with collecting history.  The main idea behind citizenship is the attitude that individuals come into the process with.  Welcoming arms will not be extended by every single person.  Some of those arms will have to be slowly pried open by genuinely caring for their needs.  Most of the communities and individuals in need have been oppressed or ignored in the past.  They fear trusting outsiders with an issue that many others have overlooked or purposefully ignored.  A positive attitude will bring a positive outcome.  People respond well to positivity and feel that an individual truly does want to help them in any way they can.  This will lead to bond of friendship that nothing else could ever compare to.  The people of Optimist Park have left this impression of gratitude and determination on me.  They are continuing to fight for their neighborhood to stand on its own glory instead of falling into the trap of becoming “citified” like some other surrounding neighborhoods.  Their neighborhood pride continues to shine and reach every individual that they come into contact with.  I hope that the same can be said for all of us who have worked on this community service venture.