Senior Project Hours Update

Saturday, March 30, 8:30am - 4:15pm at 7555 Mission Street, Daly City
Number of hours: 8.75
Total number of hours completed: 20.5

This was my second day at the site, and I began to be more open with talking to new people. Everyone was friendly (just as the people during the other two times were) and I personally felt that it was easier for to have conversations. I felt more confident when I was introducing myself and meeting others, which shows how volunteering has started to help me socialize with people that I am unfamiliar with. This day was mostly spent cleaning the condominiums to prepare them for the families to move in. The rooms had to be finished by the end of the day

Senior Project Hours

Saturday, March 23, 8:30am - 4:15pm at 7555 Mission Street, Daly City
Number of hours: 8.75
Total number of hours: 11.75

This was the first day that I volunteered on a building site with Habitat for Humanity. This site was started around 2 years ago and is now almost completed. Due to this, there weren't any construction jobs to do, and we mainly just inspected the panels and windows and scraped off paint that got on them on accident. We also moved materials (such as paint, ladders, etc.) from the top floors to the garage.

Senior Project Hours (backlogging)

I forgot to log this earlier, but I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, February 23rd from 9:00am to 12:00pm (for a total of 3 hours). This day was a "Park Beautification  Day", which happens every 3rd Saturday of the month. We worked at a park called Youngblood Coleman Park in the Bayview of San Francisco. We arrived at around 8:45am and met up with organizers and other volunteers that were  there to work with Habitat for Humanity. We learned that it was the  birthday of one of the coordinators, and that the majority of the people there were volunteering as her birthday request. My mother signed up and also volunteered with me and worked alongside me throughout the day. The main work was moving branches that were already cut from bushes and trees and moving them to a designated are so they could later be picked up by a truck. We also cleaned up litter and leaves, which made my mother worrisome because other people were finding a lot of needles. I got to talk briefly with the woman whose birthday it was, and she was very kind. After the volunteering session was over, lunch was provided (sandwiches, veggies, and chips).

I Found Belonging in a Crowd

I will never forget the first show that I went to. It was the first experience that I not only heard the music, but I also felt it. It was in a small room on 18th and Mission, filled with young adults standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting for someone to make the first move and turn our anticipation into organized chaos. It wasn't like going to a large venue and seeing a metal band, nor could it be labeled "punk", for the music had a different tune to it, and the people there looked just like average "normies".

This was my first introduction to a subgenre of punk music called "hardcore punk", which would grow increasingly important to me, and that I am still deeply connected to today. Although at the time I was just another face in the crowd and I didn't know the bands too well, I felt a strong sense of belonging while listening to the fast music and watching others dance and jump off the stage. The whole show was surreal, and it really seemed like something that would only happen in a movie. I was absorbed into the energy that the bands and spectators displayed, which seemed to spread throughout the room and into my mind.

What was different between these people and friends I had before that were into punk and metal were that many of these people were more interested in the government and social issues. Between sets, people were lined up in front of tables to buy shirts, records, patches, etc. Along with band merchandise, there were also insightful zines and pamphlets, one of which was specifically about veganism. Many people in the hardcore scene also recognize as being "straight edge", which is a commitment to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

The bands and people at this show, and every show that I've ever attended were very welcoming and open-minded. I know that no matter where I go or how I change, the hardcore scene is where I belong.