Personal Narrative: The Changemaker Hubs

When we began our class in the Changemaker Hub, I had no idea what to expect. The tree exercise proved to me that change making does not occur instantly, but forms after much planning and consulting. When I saw the set of cards, I could not see what activity could come from the random assortment. I selected a picture of the beach at sunset because it calmed me on what had already been a stressful morning. I could not see many other scenes relating to mine, so Morgan and I forced a connection between our choices, waiting for class to end so I could finish chapters I needed to finish for classes later that day. When prompted to join with another pair, we drifted to the boys next to us, not willing to exert physical energy. Soon enough, these
At home, I often planned fun weekends for my friends, took charge of class projects, and acted as tennis team captain. With those groups, even though I was not close friends with all members, I had known them since kindergarten and they knew me. Here, I often fear of overstepping my bounds and irritating people. This challenge tampered with my ability to successfully voice my opinions towards the beginning of the brainstorming session, but I quickly reevaluated what I would want from a partner: someone who spoke his or her mind freely without dreading judgement. I struggled to open up in this small group setting, just as I remained quiet in the class-wide activity about aspects of who we are. I barely knew my classmates; why should I trust them to be truthful. For one statement, I remained in the middle of the classroom, not wanting to share my thoughts. Yet, when others opened up completely, I realized I was holding the discussion back and allowed myself to speak my mind. Emerging Leaders has proven that, while scary, there are benefits to speaking up. What originally hindered my group became a strength once I forced myself to add to the
The winter months force all of us inside; shelters gear up for November through February and have room for a majority of the city’s destitute. San Diego is the opposite. The year-round tepid temperatures allow those without homes to live outside for a majority of the year, not motivating them to change their homelessness status, compared to back East, where people strive to find shelter by the beginning of fall. Many here in San Diego seem content to use a highway overpass as a living environment. My group wants to help these people find stable housing conditions, but we realize the problem needs a, “second-order change [which changes] the organization’s fundamental values and assumptions” (p. 103). In our case, both the homeless and the city of San Diego are a part of the organization. To increase our chances of creating real change, we delved deeper into research compiled by the San Diego County Regional Task Force for the Homeless. In January of 2015, 8,742 people were homeless in San Diego and the number has skyrocketed since then. Of that number, one-fifth suffer from some sort of mental illness and over fifteen percent battle alcohol and substance abuse. Instead of trying to fix the entire problem by fixing the housing market or buying houses for the homeless, our goal is to find and provide treatment for those who face these ailments. If the homeless can overcome their addictions, they can