Groundwork Activity

My observations from the place I have been researching have bombarded my senses. The very first thing I noticed about the St. Lawrence gymnasium was that it was cool. There was no relief stepping from the frigid cold outside into the gym. As soon as I was inside, I noticed how small everything was. The school is designed for elementary students, so all the posters, signs and equipment were at their eye level. The noise level in the gym once the athletes began to filter in grew louder and louder. The gym was run down, with old wooden bleachers that looked like they hadn't been restored since around the 1950's. Why did the coaches choose this location? Did they have any other choice? Does the Special Olympics pay for these facilities? How do the coaches get involved?

To the athletes though, the cool temperature, size, noise level and old facilities didn't seem to make much of a difference. I honestly cannot say whether they even noticed their surroundings. To this group of athletes, appearance doesn't seem to matter as much to them as it does to the rest of society. 

When I first volunteered at the Special Olympics, before I was an insider, I felt very apprehensive. I was extremely nervous, fearing that I wouldn't know the right things to do or say, or that I would be uncomfortable. I went into this place with the mindset that it was a one time volunteering experience. It it didn't work out, I didn't think I would be heartbroken. After my first experience there, I fell in love with it and couldn't imagine not going back. The people there were so friendly and made me laugh so much. I now feel much more comfortable in my space there, as if I am going each week to hang out with some old friends. 

I feel as though I am deeply an insider in the Special Olympics community. However, there are small differences that could keep me from fully understanding the environment. I am an individual with no severe learning disability. This keeps me from fully understanding or sometimes even comprehending the way that some of the athletes think and feel. Many of the other volunteers have parents, siblings or other relatives that participate in the Special Olympics. In that case, I cannot understand what it is like to live with and care for a person with a disability every day. A small portion of the volunteers come from Ball State and are special education majors. As a group, we are probably the most "outsider-like" of all the people there.