Happy Birthday to Me: One of the Greatest Weeks Ever

What a crazy, glorious, fantastic week it has been! This has been one of the greatest weeks not only in my city year but also in my life. Just a really excellent seven days.

City Year New Hampshire had Monday off so we could celebrate our great presidents. Personally, I hung up all of my posters of James K. Polk and sang "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," the campaign theme song for William Henry Harrison. After that day of fun, I was pretty much ready for a great day of service on Tuesday. I did have some work left to do for my senior corps application, but I knew I'd have time after work on Tuesday.

I was quite surprised when I discovered that we had a snow day on Tuesday. However, our Winter Camp was still less than a week away, so several members of the camps team went into work for a few hours. I decided to join them. I spent the morning drawing a large version of the City Year logo and making phone calls to students, asking if they are still interested in attending camp. I had a few rejections and a few positive responses, so there were some victories. I also had the chance to finish my senior corps application before heading back into the snow for the night.

When I woke up on Wednesday, I just did not want to go to school. I was hoping for another snow day because I didn't spend Tuesday's day off doing personal things. But, as PITW #124 says, "Everyone needs to do things that are not in the job description." I spent my day off helping out the camps team with important tasks but that didn't mean that I could slack off because I wanted to stay home. So, during math class, I went to the teachers' lounge to energize myself with some air guitar and self-motivation.

It certainly helped, though the rest of the day definitely had its difficulties. Bear and I went to Seacoast Youth Services to help out with their afterschool program. On Wednesdays, they run a cooking and nutrition program. It's a great program since it teaches students how to eat and cook healthy meals and it feeds them. Unfortunately, a group of sixth graders who have been cooped up inside classrooms all day are not the most attentive people. I spent most of the two hours after work frustrated, shushing students. This is not the way I want to function around students. I knew I needed to do a game check before Wednesday to ensure that I'm doing my best for the students I work with and the people in my community.

Wednesday was not without its victories. "Sophia" is simply knocking her social studies project out of the park. It isn't the greatest presentation ever, but she is spending a lot of time in class working on it and I'm hoping that she completes it on time. Even when I wasn't sitting next to her, Sophia was working on her assignment. I told her how impressed and proud I am of her; I want to see this behavior continue.

At the end of Thursday, I couldn't even comprehend the greatness that is in my life. Thursday was my birthday and, obviously, I was hoping for a really good day. I got one of the greatest days of service so far. Before our readiness check, my teammate Charlie reminded everyone it was my birthday. Chris decided the word for readiness check would be "Happy Birthday Paul." It was a heartwarming start to a day that could only get better if our major activity for the day – Winter Carnival – would happen as planned.

So though I was buoyed by the love of my teammates, I was still a bit trepidatious on the drive into Seabrook. The Winter Carnival was supposed to be our capstone to Spirit Week at Seabrook Middle School. Students, during their UA period (gym, art, music, etc.), would be able to do different activities, such as video games, kickball, basketball, arts and crafts and board games. We weren't sure if it would happen; we might be bumped for to accommodate another event. Within a few minutes of arriving at school, Chris, our team leader, confirmed that the Winter Carnival would proceed as scheduled. This sealed the deal -- I was ready to work.

I was in charge of the video games; students had a choice between Guitar Hero 2 and a karaoke game. Almost surprisingly, there was very little squabbling and students were respectful and orderly. There were some great moments throughout the day. Seeing a student do a kneeslide while playing the guitar solo from "Shout at the Devil". Watching a group of seventh grade girls sing "Wannabe" by The Spice Girls and "YMCA" with Amber and Emerald, a senior corps member who works on recruitment. Seeing a bunch of eighth grade girls hug Allie, another senior corps member who worked in Seabrook's seventh grade last year, before she left. Hearing a student say, "Today was a lot of fun" at the end of the day. Victories, victories all day.

As with most days, there was a low point. Our meeting of DI was productive but very tiring. But I couldn't stay tired for long. Throughout the day, Charlie would tell me Happy Birthday – I couldn't help smiling every time he said it. When we returned to Timberland, I was ambushed by Dylan. He hugged me, swung me around and sang me an improvised happy birthday song. The absolute best part of the day came when it was time to debrief. At the end of each day, we take some time to reflect on our day of service – the good, the not-so good, the things we can improve. Chris usually has an interesting question for us, but Thursday's was a surprise: "Tell us how much you love Paul Riley and how it relates to your day." I got to hear praise from every member of my team, Dylan and Nate (who stopped by momentarily) and Sandra's brother who was visiting for the day. For my debrief response, I told each person why they are important to me.

I also said that I am so happy and lucky to be surrounded by a group of people who care about me and like me. I love the people on my team – they are some of my best friends not only at CYNH but in the world. The events of Thursday -- especially that simple gesture of respect and support -- reaffirmed that this is where I want to be. This is a beautiful world because of people like the corps members and staff at City Year New Hampshire, and I want to spend the rest of my life making other people feel this good about life.

Obviously, I was pretty excited for service on Friday and seeing all of the site again. I knew that we would be spending most of the day preparing for our Winter Camp next week and I was ready for a fun day. Unfortunately, I was greeted by a thoroughly drained camps team. They had stayed at the office until 2:00 in the morning working on things for next week. I was actually a bit offended when someone responded to my energy with, "Looks like Paul wasn't at a camps meeting." My initial reaction was, "Get over yourself. You signed up for this job – you should've known what you were getting into." I kept that thought to myself, though, because I knew that a 19 hour work day isn't an easy thing on a person's mental frame. So instead of grumbling about the surly camps team, I decided to hoot and holler in the parking lot. I danced and shouted in excitement until some senior corps members began challenging me in an excitement dance off. I don't know if it made people's days easier but I was happy to inject some much-needed energy into the morning.

Our first activity of the day lasted a few hours; we reviewed Q2Qs for the four days of camp. I was frustrated again by the vagueness of some instructions. This time, my negative feelings were crushed by a simple change in focus. We spent an hour in an Idealist's Journey session. The IJ sessions are inspired by the work of the mythology scholar Joseph Campbell. They are bi-monthly opportunities to reflect on our service in the context of the hero's journey. During each meeting, two corps members introduce a question that relates in some way to our service. Today, my team discussed the questions, "What inspires you and how can you use that to strengthen your service?" and "What are you unwilling to compromise in your life?" I really needed a break from preparing for camps since we spent the entire afternoon on that.

Our Winter Camp is split into two regions for the first two days: the Seacoast and Merrimack Valley. Lauia, my co-team leader, and I are on the Seacoast with my best buddy Amber, the camps master in that region. All of the people assigned to the Seacoast spent the afternoon at Trinity Church (where we'll be next week) preparing the Look and Feel elements. We made posters and signs that will decorate the camp spaces and cabins at Camp Berea (where we'll be the last two days of camp). It was a pleasant way to spend the last few hours of the week.

At the end of the day, I was drained. I think I used up all of my energy at the beginning of the day and I was ready to go home. But the core of me is ready for the four day mind-blowing experience that is City Year Winter Camp. I respect all of the energy and time that the camps team has spent preparing for this. I still love and cherish the opportunity to work in such a glorious organization like City Year. People can be frustrated, drained and cranky but I have no doubt that others are committed to this mission: to build a stronger community, nation and world for all of us. What a perfect week.