Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

[glacial_queen]

An email had gone out to the class the night before informing everyone to dress nicely and to wear something warm as they'd be meeting by the Causeway today.

"Depending on your destiny, odds are good that you're going to be personally responsible for the well-being of others. Some of those people will be easy for you to remember: the vocal, the well-off and powerful, those who serve directly beneath you that you see and interact with frequently. But those aren't the only people who depend on you and sometimes it's very easy for people to slip between the cracks, to go unnoticed and become forgettable. Those people are, of course, usually the ones who need your support and concern the most. It's a sad truth that the people who need help most are usually the ones in the least position to ask for or receive it."

She began passing out maps of Baltimore with several buildings marked off. "Today, however, we're going to be remembering those people and doing our best to assist them. Your next hour is going to be spent volunteering--though I'm sure you can feel free to stay a little longer if you don't have class immediately after this. As a reminder though, today isn't about you and and how good you feel about yourself afterwards. These people aren't learning experiences or character building exercises. You're there to see how you can help make their day better. It's a very different mindset to go in with, which you can feel free to think about for next week's class."

Sex, Dating and Self-Confidence [Tuesday, Period 2]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

Irene didn't have the box on her lap today, as she was somehow without questions! Not even smart-assy ones!

What she did have, though, was a completely moddable collection of art supplies -- construction paper, magazines, scissors, pipe cleaners, the whole works. (In fact, Irene had kind of gone to the art store and vaguely pointed at things until she thought she had enough. The magazines had been pilfered wherever she could find them, but at least none of them were porny!)

"Good morning, darlings," she greeted them with a warm smile. "Today, we're beginning the self-confidence portion of our class. I've been looking forward to this for some time, and I'm glad I held it for the end, because I feel like I know you all at least a little better than I did at the start of the semester, and that's going to make today's class exercise much easier."

"We're going to make vision boards today," she explained, gesturing to the art supplies, and then pulled a little bit of a face. "I know it's cheesy and -- well. A bit...Oprah-y. But it's a marvelous exercise in determining what you want. Part of being confident is having clear, defined goals, and we'll talk a bit about that in a week or two. But for today, I want you to make a vision board, which is an abstract art project that is filled with things you want for your future, or that you feel represent you as you are now." She reached behind her on the desk, plucking up a collage on pale blue paper, featuring photos cut out of magazines -- a beautiful pair of shoes, a picture of Big Ben, two women kissing, elegant block letters spelling out 'IRENE,' amongst other things -- and some decoration.

"Try," she suggested, setting the board on her lap, "to think of things you already love about yourself. Things you already know you're good at. Because again, I've gotten to know you all decently well over the last two months, and you all are good at things. No one here has any reason to think they don't have anything to put on a board. Start there. And then build out -- what do you want for your future before you graduate? What about after? See if you can find photos -- or you may draw, if you're so inclined -- that represent these things. The idea is that you can hang a vision board somewhere and it will remind you of those goals and keep you focused -- or, if you tend to buy into bullshit, you can hang it and all your dreams will just come true through the power of positive thinking."

She rolled her eyes. "It's more the first thing I said," she confided. "Anyway. Have fun, kiddos. Ask if you need help." She didn't think they would, much -- her confidence in her class was well-illustrated by the fact that she'd provided adult scissors, after all.