event blog

Over this semester I have been volunteering every Wednesday at a group home which is apart of the Gallagher Center. The Gallagher Center is outside Baltimore and it is a center which coordinates group homes for disabled adults. They put together programs for these individuals such as “casino night,” “bingo,” and also have church services for them. These adults are mentally challenged and can’t live on their own, therefore they have to live with constant supervision. At first I was very apprehensive about working with these people, I was very unsure what this population was all about and how to act around them. After my first experience with them I realized I had nothing to be nervous about and they were more like you and I than I had previously expected. They want the same things in life as we do; they want to be happy and successful in what they can accomplish in life.

The entire volunteering experience had very positive affects on my outlook to the world around me. The population that I worked with was the happiest people I have ever met. They take what God has given them and make the best of it. When I would play cards with them they would constantly laugh and tell each other stories. Even though the experience was a little boring to me at times they made the best of every situation and had fun while doing it, unlike the people who I am surrounded by every day that have trouble looking at the simple things in life and making the best of it. This connects to Jesuit education because it is using the resources that God has generously given me and using them to help others who are less fortunate than me. The adults I worked with appreciated and looked forward to the time we spent together every week. As they started to remember who we were and the conversations we had during previous weeks it became a very rewarding experience.

This experience can be related to “Twelfth Night”, by William Shakespeare. One of the main themes of the play is deception. In the play there are many different characters that are perceived differently then what they really are. An example is Viola when she is disguised as her brother, Sebastian, which she names herself Cesario. She is perceived as a man so she is treated like one, but even though she is suppose to be a man she still acts like Viola. She is very poetic when she speaks and speaks of her love to the Duke when talking to Olivia. Olivia falls in love with Cesario because of the deception that the world had of her. Another form of deception in the book is the clown. The clown is the voice of reason in the play and has very intelligent views. A clown is mostly thought of as a foolish character but if the characters look underneath his appearance they will found out that he has some of the most helpful advice to give.

In society disabled people are perceived as helpless and fully dependent on the people around them. They are also thought of to have sad lives because they are not as fortunate as the rest of us. During this experience I’ve learned that how people are deceived in the media is not always the correct way of viewing them. I’ve learned that disabled adults are just like the rest of us. They find more happiness in life than the average person, they take advantage of the opportunities that are given to them, and they are successful in the things that they are physically able to accomplish.

The Year of the City is opening me up to the many different people in the world and is helping me look underneath the perception that the rest of society may have of them. Before this year I looked at Baltimore as a city full of crime and violence because of the stereotype I have grown up with. Now that I have been exploring the city I have learned that everyone in life just wants the same goals. They want happiness and success for their family and friends. Jesuit education is teaching me that if I have the ability to help people achieve these goals I should use my resources to help them.