Here we are at the end of the path. At this point, I have completed 12 hours of service at the Lydia Home. I have helped several different kids with various homework assignments, played games, had my hair braided by a few of the girls, pushed kids on the swing, and even helped serve dinner and snacks. My time at the Lydia Home has truly been filled with many different activities and many good times to look back on. When looking back on all of my experiences, there are a few themes that seem to recur.
One of these themes is language and the various aspects that make up language. This theme occurred in various events over the course of my 12 hours of service. When trying to help a kid with reading homework, they struggled with their reading skills because they did not have a strong background in the phonetic rules of language. In other instance, I didn't have enough power in my language to keep one of the boys on task. Then, when playing Taboo with some of the parents, they didn't have a wide enough vocabulary to play the game well. In everyday life, all aspects of language have a large role in effective and competent interpersonal communication. Without language in general, communication would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, having a good understanding of the rules that govern language and having a wide vocabulary is critical to being a competent communicator.
Another theme that presented itself several times while I was at the Lydia Home was perception. Before going to the Lydia Home, I have a perception of what the place would be like and what the children would be like. However, after being at the Lydia Home for a little while, I realized that those perceptions were wrong. Secondly, there were many different ways that the kids could have perceived me and then shaped their behaviors toward me based on those perceptions. If they perceived me as just a stuck-up, rich white person, they may not have been very open or accepting of me. Thankfully, that was not the case. Another way perception played a role in my time there was through my perception of where the kids should be academically. I never really struggled in school and things tended to come pretty naturally. So, I had a perception of what the kids should know based on what grade level they are in. However, most of the kids needed a little extra help, so I had to change that perception and make sure I didn't base my behavior on those perceptions. Then, I was better able to help the kids and be more patient with them when they didn't quite understand something.
With everything I have learned and the different experiences I have had while at the Lydia Home, there are many things I can take with me for the future. One thing that will definitely stick with me is being mindful of the perceptions I have. In future interpersonal interactions, I hope to become more aware of the perceptions I have. I also hope to make sure that if those perceptions aren't quite accurate that I don't behave according to those perception. I definitely need to try utilizing perception checks more often. These small steps will help to decrease the number of misunderstandings and complications that arise from those misunderstandings. Another thing that I will take away from my time at the Lydia Home is how important language. I was always taught to pick the words I use wisely, but there's so much more to language and competent communication than just words. How you put those words together in a sentence also makes a difference. Also, you have to know how to deliver a message effectively based on the context. Without all these things, communication wouldn't be very effective. Therefore, in future interpersonal interactions, I hope to be aware of how I want my message to be received and shape my language based on that. Also, I want to keep expanding my understanding of the various rules that govern language. One way to accomplish this is to read because books tend to have correct grammar. For my future interpersonal interactions, I also want to expand my vocabulary, which will definitely help me become a more competent communicator. However, there are so many other lessons I have learned during my short time at the Lydia Home. The good news, though, is that there is always room for improvement in life!
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