Yesterday night, October 18, I attended a reflection session in the Campus Center Meeting Room 4. At first, I was dreading to go to the session. For one, I was sick and did not feel  well. Walking from my dorm all the way to the campus center would not be a good idea with a cold/cough. And two, I thought that it was going to be packed with people saying what kind of service they completed in the past few weeks, when I only completed little projects.

I was nervous when I showed up, because no one was there. I did arrive about ten minutes early, but I thought that at least someone would be in the room waiting. Soon, though, a few people showed up and I entered the room. Not many people attended, which was surprising. What was even more surprising was that everyone made me feel welcomed; I wasn’t just a little girl completing a small project, but a person that was doing good for her community.

During the reflection, we talked about the services we completed, how we could make them better, and what was the message we received from the service. I realized that the service isn’t supposed to make only myself happy, but the whole community. I shouldn’t be completing service for my own sake, so I do not feel guilty for not helping out the underprivileged, but for the sake of others. How the director of the reflection said it was that not everyone wants help, and we cannot just go out trying to help them if they don’t want it. It’s like going out and giving food to people you think need it, just so you can feel better. You might feel better, but the people that were given the food might not want it or they might feel disrespected and ashamed because they “looked” like they needed it. There are two sides to every story, so I left with the knowledge of not helping someone unless they ask for it. This doesn’t mean to not help the lady who is dropping all of her grocery bags and doesn’t have enough hands to carry them all. It means to not go and complete service just to make myself happy, but to make the people that need it happy.

A poem that was shared with us, The Starfish Story, really make me think about helping others and if they really want the help.

The Starfish Story

An old man was walking on the beach one morning after a storm.

In the distance, he could see someone moving like a dancer. As he came closer,

he saw that it was a young woman picking up starfish and gently throwing them into the ocean.

“Young lady, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” “The sun is up, and the tide is going

out, and if I do not throw them in they will die,” she said. “But young lady, do you not realize

that there are many miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You cannot possibly

make a difference.” The young woman listened politely, then bent down, picked up

another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference for that one.”

I came out of the reflection with two points to this story. First, even though I am only one person, one person can make a difference. Anyone can make a change, if she works hard enough and tries her best. Second, don’t help someone out just to make myself happy and only help someone if they ask; this way I will not offend people who I think need help when they actually do not.

Let me just start off saying that I thought that this Convocation was spectacular and I am so glad that this book was chosen for this years Freshman Common Reading. I am also so glad that Stockton was able to get Christina Baker Kline to visit, tell her story on how she wrote the book, answer our questions, and also sign our books. I loved hearing all about the real Orphan Trains and their riders, and how Kline worked her own story into her presentation.

In high school, I learned little about the Orphan Train Movement. There was some information on the movement in a small paragraph in one of my history textbooks, but when the teacher was teaching the lesson, he skimmed over the subject. It was barely talked about in my class and very little was said, with no details. After reading the Orphan Train novel, I learned a lot about the movement and what train riders actually went through. The best part about this book is that it is from the eyes of a train rider, so you saw what they witnessed, felt how they felt, and heard what they had to listen to. We got an inside look with this book, and Kline, I believe, wrote it perfectly.

At the Convocation, I loved the story that Kline told about Pat, who was an Orphan Train rider that oddly had the same story as Vivian, one of the main characters in Orphan Train. I thought it was funny that Kline pretty much wrote Pat’s life and she didn’t even know it. Hearing that Pat got to meet her family in Ireland makes me so overwhelmed with joy because she got to know the people that were “her people” before she died. When she found them, they accepted her with open arms, acting like her and her mother never went to America in the first place. I was disappointed that she never got to meet her mother, though, and I wish that she could find that essential part of her history, but not everything can come out perfectly.

After the presentation was finished, Kline opened up the room for questions. Unfortunately, I was not picked to ask my question, but one student asked if there was a movie coming out based on the book. It was a great question and I am so glad that he asked it because I would love to see it. I think it would be so interesting, unlike any other historical or non-fiction movies that have come out. I think that it could tell the story that not many people know about and with the movie, more people would be aware of the event that many people look over in history called the Orphan Train Movement.

At the end, even though I did not get the opportunity to ask Kline my question in the auditorium, I was able to ask her during the book signing. I asked, “You just told the story of Pat reuniting with her family in Ireland, and at the end of your book, Vivian got the chance to reunite with her daughter that she gave up for adoption. Are you thinking about writing a sequel to the book telling of Vivian and her daughter reuniting or a sequel from the daughter’s or great-granddaughter’s point of view?” Kline loved that I asked the question and the only thing she said was, “That is a great thought, and that might make a great book, but you will just have to keep your eyes open and see if it ever happens.” I think she was pretty much saying that it is in the making and will be coming out in a few years or so. If any sequel to Orphan Train does release, whether it is from Molly’s, Vivian’s, or her daughter Sarah’s point of view, I will be sure to grab myself a copy and read it. The ending of Orphan Train was a cliff hanger, and I really don’t like books that keep me guessing what happens next, so hearing that there might be a sequel really excited me.

To set the record straight, Kline is not like other authors, simply writing the book to make money and then charging tons of money to make appearance. Kline was so nice, sincere, and all around great person. I am so glad that I got to meet her and have a little chat. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to read the sequel, go to another presentation, and get that book signed by Christina Baker Kline as well.

Just a few days ago, on September 23, 2014, my Honors Freshman Seminar class met in F111 with the other Honors Freshman Seminar classes to complete an activity together. We played a game called “Scavenger Hunt,” where we were given clues and went into the library to find the object described. A week earlier, each class had to create one (or more if you wanted) clue that would describe a book, movie, cassette, CD, etc. that was located in the library. The catch was, we had to find a book, movie, etc. that had to do with our main concept in class: Food.

At first, I thought that this was going to be easy and that all I had to do was find a cookbook or something similar. However, we had to find a book that had to do with food, but was not an actual cookbook. This made things a little bit trickier. My first plan of action was to go to the internet and research books that had food as a main topic, but were not cookbooks. There were so many and I was really surprised that I have not heard more of the titles, since many were bestsellers. My next plan of action was to go to the library’s website to see if they had some of the books, but I came back empty handed. Next, instead of searching on the internet first, I went right to the library’s website and typed in key words. I did not type in“food,” though, but specific words like “Martini, Cannibalism, and Recipes.” I came out with a handful of books to choose from. In my class, my teacher, Professor G.T. Lenard, asked us to write down five clues for five different items that were in the library. After I found three great, somewhat challenging books that the other students would have to spend time finding, I decided to actually go to the library and look through some of their movie collections to find two more items to put on my list. I walked up and down the isles, reading the titles until I found two that had food as their main topics. I copied them down and then in class, handed all of the clues in. The next class we would meet in F111 and go to the library.

After using the library’s website and actually looking through some of their selection, I had a better understanding of how to use the library and how to find things without the librarians help. I know that they are there to help the students, but it is great to know how to do things on your own. When we started the scavenger hunt, I was placed in a group, picked my clue, and was on my way trying to find the specific book, movie, or other item that was in the library. First, I went to the computer and looked up some key words that were in the hint that I received. After scrolling through a few pages, I finally found the book and copied down where it was located in the library. After asking the librarian where my section was located and waiting for my friends to find their clues, we went upstairs together to a room I never even knew existed. I found my book, which was called “The Italian Way,” copied down the information I needed, and headed to find my friends’ books. After finding all of the books, we headed back to F111.

This activity was actually really fun and I learned more about the library than I’ve ever known before. I’ve discovered rooms that I have never even knew existed and I know that there are still more rooms to explore. I cannot wait to be able to go back and just walk through the whole library to see what kind of items they have in stock. After this activity, I can confidently say that I know how to find books and other items in the library without the librarian’s help.