Week 1 - Julie Martin

I began my first week of Summer of Service working with Young Life. We had a few clubs (gatherings) left before Deland High School students were out of school so I stayed around to help. Since summer was approaching, we decided to change things up a bit and have fun. We came up with having a flash mob. Everyone was to meet at Tom's restaurant at an exact time. One of the leaders purchased a birthday cake and we randomly sang happy birthday to a stranger eating in the restaurant. A downtown conga line immediately followed. We had a good turn out of participants. After the conga line with a boom box, we headed back to Tom's for pizza. It was a great time to bond with high school students. Our last club of the year was messy. All of us leaders spent the entire day preparing for it. We blew a ton of water balloons, made a bunch of flour balls, and set up all the games. That day consisted of having a food fight (threw rice, beans, and tomato sauce), throwing water balloons and flour balls, and playing twister with tomato sauce, relish, mustard, and mayonnaise. It was a blast. Another way I dedicated my time to high school students at the beginning of my summer was taking a few girls to Islands of Adventure. One spent the night at my house the night before and then we went the next day. It was actually my first time going. I was really looking forward to it as I love roller coasters. It was a wonderful day listening to the girls about their life stories and guiding them along the way. Spending my time this way made my summer more meaningful and special.