My Twitterive - Draft 1: Tweets, Scene, & Reaction/Thoughts/Connections
|
I babysat five kids and they were all playing soccer. Only one of the children really knew how to play soccer and knew many of the rules, this was Jonathan. When the game first started and he began explaining the rules, one of the boys, Stone, became very upset. "It's not fair Jonathan, I don't want to keep score, you're way better than we are, so we are going to automatically lose, I'm not playing with you."
I was about to step in and tell Stone that playing by the rules really is the fair way to play, no matter who has had experience or not. But before I could do that, Montana, who was on Stone's team said to him "Stone, it's going to be ok, we are just playing for fun, it's not about winning or losing". Stone was able to understand what Montana was saying and he changed his attitude and began playing. |
I found it really rewarding that the kids were able to give each other advice and work out their issues. Earlier in the day I had given them a brief lesson on fighting, because they were disagreeing on almost everything. I thought it was really cool that they had listened to what I had said and were already putting it into action.
|
|
Jonathan kept explaining to the others how to play the game when something unorderly would occur, like a hand ball. Montana was on the opposing team and was losing by many points. Jonathan explained a rule, then Montana said, "Well, I'll follow what you're saying, because I'd rather lose when playing by the rules than cheat and win."
|
I thought it was really great that Montana realized that being honest might be hard but it's worth it in the end. I told her that I was very proud of her.
|
|
|
I committed to working the entire weekend for one family, from Friday at 3:15pm when I'd pick one of the kids up from school until Monday at 8:30am when I'd send the last kid off on the bus to school. This wasn't my longest babysitting job ever, but it was definitely going to be a stressful one as it's right smack in the middle of the semester so I'm on a homework overload. Being the person I am though, I felt like I couldn't' say no, I wanted the parents to be able to have a nice weekend away in Las Vegas. I did as much homework as was possible in the break I had between classes so that I wouldn't have much, if any, to do while working.
|
At the time that I tweeted this, I was feeling quite overwhelmed and regretting my commitment. However, I then looked at this another way, I'd earn a lot of money and it would cover the next month's rent.
|
|
|
As I was paying for my water a woman walked by me and saw my backpack.
She said "Oh my goodness, you're backpack is so cute, I love it. My daughter would love a backpack like that. Where did you get it?" I replied, "Thank you. I bought it from Forever 21 in the mall because I had a gift card." She then asked, "The one in Deptford? How much was it?" So I said, "Yes, Deptford, and I'm not really sure how much, I believe it was about twenty-nine dollars." She had a huge smile on her face and said "I'm going to go there right now and see if they have any left." Then she walked away. |
I felt very good in this situation. I appreciated the compliment and kind words that the woman gave me. I was also happy that I was able to give her the idea of what backpack to buy for her daughter. I hope that she actually bought it and that her daughter liked it. I felt a bit strange posting this tweet, because I don't really like to share things like this with others. I don't think I need to broadcast that I've been complimented. I figured it went along with the whole theme of the Twitterive though, going out of your comfort zone and doing something that is weird to you.
|
|
I was in my car listening to the radio, Philly's Country station, obviously. I was driving to class while listening to the music on this station.
|
It's unlike me to put my opinion out there and share my values with other people. Typically, only the people who know me best and that I'm closest to, like my boyfriend, my close friends, and some of my family members, know what I truly like and have heard me voice my opinion. I was trying to go out of my comfort zone though, so I "spoke up" and posted a tweet letting all of my Twitter followers know that not only was I listening to XTU but that country music is my preferred type of music.
|
|
|
|
I was sitting in my Audi at a park, waiting for one of the kids that I was babysitting to finish his soccer practice so I could then bring him home then help him with homework and then put him and his sister to bed. While sitting there waiting I was texting my boyfriend about all of my frustrations - mainly how I was very overwhelmed with the amount of homework I had been assigned that week that I needed to complete in the next few days while also working. During the period of time I was waiting for his responses I was listening to the country music playing on the radio and singing along in my head to the lyrics that I knew.
|
I was feeling incredibly stressed and overwhelmed. I had no idea how I would finish all of the work that I needed to do. I was feeling relieved though when my boyfriend was texting me comforting words and letting me know how much he cared. The music was consoling as well. I tend to feel good when I listen to music that I like.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
While driving the five year old back from Kindergarten we approached a traffic light that was red. I stopped the car.
5 year old: "Who makes the light change?" Me: "There's not a person. I think traffic lights are on timers and they are set to change at a certain time." 5 year old: "Ohhhh. How come there's no other colors on the light?" Me: "Well, there's only red, yellow, and green because they all have a meaning - red is stop, yellow is slow down and get ready to stop, green is go - those are the only colors needed." 5 year old: "Oh ok." |
I enjoyed answering these questions. I think it's great when kids are curious and ask questions to clear up their misunderstandings.
|
|
|
|
|
I was feeling very exhausted and regretting committing to an entire weekend of work. The kids didn't have a bedtime. I was going to just give them one, but they had just been on Face Time with their parents who told them they could stay up however late they wanted...there went my plan.
|
After working for 13.5 hours straight and doing homework as well during some of that time, I was very tired and wanted to go to sleep. I was thinking about the two and a half days of non-stop work with homework incorporated and just wanting to sleep through it all. Homework was at its peak and I was feeling very drained. Babysitting is a tedious task!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
While I was staying at the family's house babysitting for the weekend, I slept in the girl's room. She has this picture on her wall which is themed as a surf bedroom. I immediately fell in love with this picture. I love the beach so much, it is one of my favorite places. I find so much enjoyment and relaxation at the beach.
|
Through the stress and responsibility placed on me during the weekend, this picture made me feel better.
|
|
|
If you knew me well, you'd know that I typically don't go against the norm and I don't challenge people/things. On the schedule that the parents made for the weekend, they had encouraged me to go to the older boy's soccer game and bring the younger two kids along. It wasn't a necessity though, just an option that they thought would help use up some time.
So, I asked the kids if they wanted to go and they both forcefully said "no". I tried to talk them into it. Me: "But guys, come on, let's go support your brother. We have nothing else to do today, we can't sit inside all day long. We have to go to the field to pick him up anyway, so let's just go now and watch the game, it's only an hour long." They were not happy with me. They disagreed with me and still didn't want to go. I forced them to though. "I said, come on, you have ten minutes then we are leaving. We are going to the game and watching your brother so we can support him and his team." |
I was pretty impressed with myself for just making the decisions then following through with it, even though the kids wanted to stay home and play video games inside.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|