Family Pet

On my 12th birthday, I was in Wisconsin with my grandmother and aunts on my mom's side of the family. Birthday's are big in my family. That day, we do not have to do any chores, get presents and money, and get whatever cake we like best. My favorite cake is a german chocolate cake, so that is what they made for me. I remember that it was about 1:00 pm when I got to make a wish and blow out the candles. After that, my aunt and I went outside to the backyard of my grandma's house and swang on the bench swing. She asked me what I wished for. I replied with the usual, "If you tell someone your wish, it won't come true!" However, since I was an easily persuaded person, eventually I said, "I want a cat!" That day was August 12th, 2001. On September 9, 2001, my mom and I ventured to a friends house down the street who's cat had just had a litter. My dad is from Benin, Africa, and had superstitions about cats--he did not like them. However, my mom and I picked a gray and white male kitten from the litter. I named him Pepper. He was very entergetic and would sometimes bite me for no reason. But, he was my cat, and I loved him nonetheless. In December, we decided to get him neutered so that he wouldn't end up fathering a litter of cats. My mom and I were in her green mini-van, about to go to Wal-Mart when her phone rang. I heard her say, "Okay, I'll bring the kids over to say goodbye." I could not figure out what she was talking about during the conversation. As soon as she hung up the phone, I asked, "Is it Pepper?!" Her eyes teared up, and we both began balling in the car. My mom and I went inside the house to tell my brother and sister the bad news. At first, my brother would not believe us. We all got back into the car, this time to go the the vet's office. I cried hysterically as I walked into the office. Immediately, the vet assistant knew who we were and took us back to the room with Pepper. I saw his lifeless body, and closed eyes laying there on the silver platform in which he had been operated on. He looked asleep and all I wanted at that moment was for him to jump up and bite me as he had before. But he just layed there. I stroked his face, and it was stiff. I had never felt a loss like this before; this cat was my baby. We decided that we would take him to home and bury him in our front yard. In the box that he was in, we placed a match so that he would "keep warm." I also found a favorite toy of his, so that he could play with it. We dug a hole in the front yard, and placed the box in. My mom found some verses in the Bible that she said are usually said at funerals and recited them. Then we placed four stone tablets over the area, with a porcelain angel on top. To this day, when I pass the angel I stop and think that Pepper is watching over me.

Service Learning

In high school, I was in the JROTC program for four years. This is when I first heard the term "service learning." As a class, we had brainstorm and then vote on a place to do a service learning project. We learned that the whole purpose of it was not simply to volunteer, but to "get something out of it." I use that vague phrase because the benefits of service learning are many and varied for everyone depending on the length and type of project. Some people may just want to gain people skills, or learn how to work with children. Other people may want to learn more about the inner workings of an organization. Whatever the case, I "got something out of" the service learning project we did in this class.

My partner, Dolores, was one of the "good" partners. She always showed up to our meetings, and would call and let me know if she couldn't. At the meetings, she was prepared with questions and even practiced what we had went over the previous week. It was like she was taking a class, and I was the teacher, or at least the mentor. In all we had about 5 meetings. We had begun to develop a friendship; when she practiced her English just by talking, I began to learn more about Dolores as a person. She is a very hard working, understanding and nice person. She has been in the United States for about 20 years and is still struggling with her English because the people she is surrounded by mostly spoke Spanish. The fact that she still wanted to improve speaking English gave me hope. I often get frustrated with the language I'm taking, French. The fact that she is still willing to learn inspired my not to give up even when it gets hard. Also, I learned that the small things matter. Just by talking and listening, I am helping her in her quest to be a confident English speaker. Hopefully, she learned as much from me as I did from her and she keeps on her quest to be the English speaker she wants to be!