I have been burned out in the past by social causes! One specific case was about a year ago during Invisible Children's "The Rescue," where several hundred people gathered at ASU to raise awareness of what's going on in Northern Uganda. Joseph Kony, a radical tyrant and criminal to humanity, has been kidnapping Ugandan children and forcing them to be child soldiers in his gorilla army.
At first I thought that the event was gonna be like a huge party, but I was definitely wrong. Immediately after arriving I was put to work setting up stations. It was a beautiful warm sunny day thankfully and after setting up it was time to start the march down Mill Ave. Directing individuals to the site required us to run ahead of the pack, back and forth, and make sure that the traffic was clear. After the march, it was time to help with registration. So, after a full day of marching and setting up we were still required to stay on-site until we raised enough attention from the media. Night came, I was exhausted, and I had wondered what I got myself into. Luckily our media sponsors showed up and we were faced with staying the night with everyone else, or going home. I was burned out, and I went home.
Now that I am in SLICE 2010, I am becoming more prepared and organized for social service. This is a very demanding class and I am having to sacrifice work, friends, and some classwork. But luckily SLICE provides all of those things, a lot of fun work, really cool friends, and tons of classwork! I am trying not to be burned out because I know it's all gonna be worth it! I don't allow myself to say no sometimes which can be a problem, but sometimes saying no is better in the long run. Giving up some things and replacing them with others is my favorite part of life. Learning new things requires you to feel uncomfortable at times, and what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger! I'd say to prevent burnout, you must not let the bad experiences bring you down, or take you away from your life's goals.
Social life? What's that? I am so thankful I can afford to go to school because it provides me with a great social network, and can promote strong organizational skills. Just like the chapter suggests, in order to avoid burnout, you must leave time to grieve. My mom would say differently. That I should not slow down. There is nothing I can do to change what happen or what is going to happen, there is only planning and reacting to the situation. My dad would just say, "Man up! Stuff happens. Deal with it. You think that you have a hard life?" hahaha There's no use crying over spilled milk.
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Howdy friend, what going on this is my last post. Am I one of your new friends? Would your daddy really say "stuff happens." On a serious note the invisible children is heart breaking, I'm glad you got involve and it didn't turn you away from SLICE. You're like the 4 hardest working person on the team. haha. You are a good Charlie Brown and keep on keeping on.
ReplyDeleteHahaha Dylan, our dads are very similar. Another important mentor of mine always told me two things when I was feeling overburdened. Either "take everything in stride", or "don't sweat the small stuff, it's all small stuff." These philosophies help, but I think like everyone keeps saying, a social support group (friends, family, and such) are the best way to keep on keepin on.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Dylonial Foot Soldier!
Dylan!! I can see how raising awareness about something like the Invisible Children could make you feel burned out because Uganda is a place that most cannot even find on a map! I've always wanted to get involved in that awareness, but always seemed to have "something more important" occupying my time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Slice. I have given up so much to be a part of this class, but in that I have gained so much more. I'm really glad that I took this class too! It makes me realize I can find time for the more important things.