Wednesday, February 27, 2008

interview with an ameri-self

tuesday was my 4-week anniversary here. we received our team roles and i am (drumroll) assistant team leader and capper (e.g. nccc recruiter). in light of this information, i thought i'd better interview myself about life as an ameriwhorps.

q: what item are you most thankful for bringing?
a: my water-resistant tennis shoes. they make playing soccer, frisbee, running, or just playing outside far more enjoyable during this, the raining/snowy season.

q: interesting. what item has proved most pointless then?
a: hmmm...to date, my travel sized shampoo. i haven't needed it yet, and i think stores across the country carry them.

q: last packing question. what item do you most regret leaving behind?
a: most of my music. there is so much music i'd love to share with my amerifriends, and i've missed it as a means for unwinding at the end of the day.

q: what has surprised you most about your nccc experience so far?
a: how separate it feels from the rest of the world. i really miss feeling more connected to what's going on in the news, politics, movies/music, friends, family, etc. on the other hand, it feels like i happened into this secret and magical utopia, which is pretty sweet.

q: what has surprised you most about yourself as a corps member?
a: i care a lot more about...everything than i thought. turns out i do have feelings - and strong ones - about how the world should work and how people should behave.
q: interesting. is that a good or a bad thing?
a: uhhhh....a little of both. it's like discovering new feelings on fast-forward. each time i stumble into another opinion, i consider, "is that who i want to be? is that how i want to respond?" sometimes the answer's, "yes". and sometimes the answer is, "don't talk about it!" or another inadvertent tantrum.

q: k. we're almost out of time here so one last question. any more thoughts on life after americorps?
a: yes, and the answer is constantly changing. however, i'm strongly considering coming back for a second year as a team leader.
q: that good, huh?
a: well, it's still early on, and i loathe commitment. but...yeah. i think i still have a lot to learn here, and this whole amerilife deal is pretty addicting. we'll see, ya know?

q: oh, i know. well, thank you for your time, ms. amerisparklepants.
a: no, thank you. it's been a pleasure.

3 comments:

velia said...

great interview, can't wait to see the E true hollywood story.

LizzyLou said...

q: what does the assistant leader and capper do?

johnny said...

a: i'm so glad you asked. assistant team leader functions as team leader any time the team splits up or the tl is absent (which happened twice this week). capper serves to raise awareness of nccc and recruit new members. we do this through casual conversation and also through at least 3 formal events per round (there are four rounds in my term of service. a formal event might be running a booth at a college career fair, speaking to a group of high school students, doing a q&a session at a local foster home...).