Post # 4- Alina Gordillo

          Since February I've been working in Girls Hope tutoring the girls in the house.  During my few months there I had a chance to work with all four girls multiple times.  Thankfully, I had the chance to work with all of them as individuals.  All of them worked differently and I had to slowly adapt to each one's personalities and also their way of learning.  As a whole they were kind and I could tell that they all treated each other as if they were sisters and they considered everyone that worked there part of their new family.  From the beginning I was told that the girls might consider you as a friend and talk to you about personal things and even invite you to dinner at the house.  In my last service learning one of the girls asked me to stay for dinner and I felt like I finally felt accomplished all of my goals for my service learning.

          In my Service Learning, I learned that beyond all I needed to be patient and understanding because not all of the girls will be kind and friendly towards you.  One of the girls did not particularly like me being around, so I kept it strictly as a tutor/student relationship.  The problem was that she usually prefers to work alone and when she needs help she is embarrassed to ask and sit down with someone that wants to help them.  I respected that and only went to her when she really needed help.  I made her laugh one time when I taught Macbeth to her.  Since she did not understand Shakespeare's language I explained the plot in modern day language and made it entertaining and she was laughing the whole way through.  She ended up getting an A+ on her test.  Topics about Shakespeare honestly didn't help me through this process, but better understanding his words, ideas, and characters truly helped me find a fun way to capture a young girls attention on his play.  This is one of my favorite memories from working with them.  Alongside, the Mexican girl that was ecstatic to know that my first language was Spanish and immediately invited me to her Quinceañera that she is already planning even though it's in 3 and a half years.  And the girl that asked me about my family and wanted to see pictures of them, we also read one of my favorite books together.  And the girl that I taught Spanish too who told me she finally understood Spanish thanks to me.

          Through my Service Learning and these five girls I grew as a person.  I was genuinely excited to go work there on Sundays because I was going to get to know them more and help them learn.  I also enjoyed that I was helping these girls grow as well.  I created different relationships with all of them.  Some consider me a friend.  One girl even asked me for advice about a boy that she really liked.  Some of them did not see me as just as a teacher, but some of them did and that was great too.  I could see how different they all work and each one of them helped me grow intellectually and personally.  This experience made want to work for this cause even more and hopefully I'll be able to tutor there again next semester.