Happy Birthday America!

Yesterday was my first (or maybe second, actually...) 4th of July in New York City. And it was so nice! It was kind of cloudy and rainy but still cool. But anyway that's unrelated. :P

It's been a short week this week, having only worked three days out of five. 3/5. Ok I drank too much coffee today. Anyway, today my supervisor called in sick so I have officially been left in charge of the educational activities for our kids. So far so good! The one who came in today, Parker, really made me feel like I was doing a good job! He didn't want to leave by the end! Aw, so cute. I really love experiencing the "social" transformation of children; that is, going from being shy, quiet, and reserved to outgoing, inquisitive, and energetic. What I also enjoy about children is how they ground you and inspire you.

I don't have too many new insights to say about work, aside from the fact that similar to all jobs, as time passes you become more and more comfortable with your tasks and become more confident in what you do.

So unlike many of my peers (probably mentioned this before?), my work here is not immediately oriented towards social justice. This is an ongoing research process that will eventually yield insights into how public school education can be improved, but it could be years before relevant results emerge. Until then we are doing the best we can to form a solid foundation of data entries and analysis. This is definitely not your typical nonprofit experience in the sense of the "daily struggle" or instant gratification of social justice work. But it is just like any other nonprofit in its dedication to giving back to the community (via scientific research), making a change, and staying committed to the betterment of mankind.

More to come!