It's time for me to throw starfish

I have been trying to write a post like this for a while now. There's just so much about City Year, that trying to write something about it seems overwhelming.

I love it.

I want to start by sharing a story with you.

T H E   S T A R F I S H   S T O R Y     (SHORTENED VERSION)

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm.  When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean.  

People watched her with amusement. 

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this?  Look at this beach!  You can’t save all these starfish.  You can’t begin to make a difference!” 

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated.  But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean.  Then she looked up at the man and replied, 

“Well, I made a difference to that one!” 

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said.  Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea.  Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.

adapted from the star thrower by loren c. eiseley, full version, credit, found here.

I've read several variations of this story throughout my life, and I didn't like them. The versions I read always ended with "well, I made a difference to that one!", but left out the part where the rest of the village helped and saved all the starfish. I thought it was silly, even a waste of time, for one person to spend their time trying to save starfish, the same starfish that would get stuck every season. Surely she couldn't make much of a difference.

Joining City Year, I had moments where I thought: Why am I here? Am I really going to make a difference? And if I do make a difference, will it be big enough to matter?

But I'm here. I will work with kids all year. The 13 corps members will work with students from this school, all year. The 45 corps members in Sacramento will work with students all year. The 2500 corps members across America will work with thousands of students. All Year.

And next year. And the year after that.

We are making a difference. A big one.

And someday, all the starfish students will graduate.



We spent August in training. Long days, full of team building experiences, interesting (but exhausting) lectures, and general getting to know City Year stuff.

The day we first got a uniform part (t-shirts that said City Year on them, and had the Americorps and other national sponsors' logos. ) I put it one in a bathroom stall ( I wouldn't wait until I got home) and danced and sang until someone came in. I quieted down real fast. I wish I could describe the feeling I got. All sorts of pride, excitement, and worry.

Mostly pride. My goodness. I wanted to wear it everywhere. On my bike ride home, I couldn't stop smiling. (That is, until I almost got hit by a car. Well, even then, I was still very much pleased with my life.) There's something about wearing a label that makes that thing more real. At the beginning of August, I was a part of City Year. You could tell because I would tell you. (over and over again because I'm so excited about it) Now, I'm still a part of City Year, but it's easier for you to tell, because every work day from the hours of 6 in the morning to 7 at night, I'm wearing the uniform. My boots, pants, and belt don't have the logo, but the kids have learned that if you're wearing khaki pants, plain belt, and Timberland boots, you're City Year. If that's not enough, I have the logo on the front of my shirt, on my name tag, on my back. It's on my backpack, and my jackets, vest, and other things sport the logo. (the logo is loaded with symbolism. Check it out here.)

I would show you a picture of me in the uniform, but I don't have one, and I'm too tired to play dress up.
Maybe later.

Some time near the beginning of our training, we went on a three day retreat, at Sly Park. Beautiful. We slept in cabins (not tent camping. Thank goodness) and spent our days learning more. More and more and more...

It was there that I was put into my school based team. um. 15 awesome people. All in one team. We can't handle how great it is.

Ok, I know this was random and incomplete, but I'm super tired and want to go to bed. I'll be better next week.