My Job Is Awesome Sometimes

I can still call myself an AmeriCorps member for only a few more weeks. Crazy to even say that since AmeriCorps has been a huge part of my identity for the past two years of my life. The next phase of my life will commence the week after that when I begin this little thing called MEDICAL SCHOOL.

Holy crap. Scary. Awesome. Scary. Awesome. Scary. Awesome.

Anywho, since that essentially kicks off the rest of my working life as I know it (again…scary. awesome. scary. awesome. scary), I’m cherishing my few last weeks of my AmeriCorps work as a mentor/tutor for low-income high school students. The summertime has been super chill for us since all of my high schoolers have graduated, but it’s also given us the time to do some amazingly fun things.

Like camping with a few of our kids in Glenwood Springs, Colorado….

Like enjoying this view and getting paid to do it…

Like watching high school boys do totally stupid things like jumping over a raging creek to a large rock and doing nothing to discourage their antics (if anything, i might have encouraged it by documenting the entire thing with my camera!)

Like spending a night in the world’s leakiest tent during a raging rainstorm, waking in the morning to realize the tent’s sogginess was due to the fact that the rain fly flew off in the medical of the night, and then laughing hysterically about it afterward with all the other girls in the tent

Like hanging out in the morning, enjoying such breakfast delights as peanut butter, bagels, and a ridiculous amount of cream cheese

Like dragging high schoolers to go hiking against their will and then watching them discover that they kinda/sorta/maybe/sometimes enjoy spending time in the great outdoors!

I have a sneaking hunch that I kinda/sorta/maybe/sometimes will miss these kids. No, I take that back. I definitely will miss them. They have a funny way of sneaking into your heart despite the whining and complaining and general teenage goofiness I’ve encountered over this year. This I know for sure: the memories from this year are here to stay for the long haul.