The Warrior

On Friday, I worked only 3 hours. I had to come to Hawken early to help out with the electronics recycling drive, which unfortunately attracted very few people. Little did I know how poorly publicized the event was. I learned a lot in that moment about community dynamics - particularly how fast I could become an outsider to my own high school! In short, I overextended my responsibilities and overestimated my influence as a Hawken student sans attending school.

I also found how fast I could lose my capabilities as a writer. My assignment on Friday was to rewrite wikilinks pages for the coop, which detailed basic bike maintenance procedures. These were very simple topics to write on - but nonetheless, it took me an hour and a half to write the first full page. Afterwards, my efficiency improved, but I still was surprised just how difficult it had been for me to write formally after only a few weeks without daily writing. It's brought a whole perception on the importance of practice and reinforced the old saying, "practice, practice, practice!"

However, the assignment stirred up new feelings. I was frustrated that this assignment seemed purposeless - essentially rewording articles on bicycle mechanics that no one would ever read anyways. I thought the coop should instead focus on developing clear instructions for volunteers, so that they can view them while they work. Jim (the director) earlier said this was a good idea and worth considering, but I wasn't about to wait for his command to construct them. So starting this weekend, I began drafting my own set of instructions for the shop - after all, I'm a volunteer, and volunteers should volunteer there help to the cause! Not only that, but I'm volunteering at a coop - where the whole idea is we cooperate. So, if they really find they hated my idea, we can take a group consensus and move onto a different idea. But the harder I work, the more my experience will pay off for the both of us. That's what I love about the coop - we truly work together, respect one another, and receive mutual benefits. I'm really enjoying my experience!