brandigirl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Alright hive mind I promise this will be the last question for a while but this is something that has been gnawing away at me for quite some time. I have read how important extracurriculars are but now half way through my 10th grade year I have none :glare:. I am a traveler and have gone cross country twice and I am about again soon. I don't stay in places longer than 3 months but if I do stay longer I usually don't know. This means that I really can't commit to places. Also some of the areas I go don't really have any volunteer options by the time I get there since their high school kids are trying to get hours also. I will most likely start school next year and will probably be joining every club and sport so that I can enjoy my high school years. 9th grade -Dance (Flamenco and Ballet) 6months -Tae Kwon Do (Yellow Belt) 5 months 10th Grade -nothing :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I'm currently reading How to be a High School Superstar. I would highly recommend it for your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandigirl Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 That definitely seems like a great book. I will request it from the library and try to finish it before our next move. I think the way I am going to do this is just make myself look a gypsy as possible and just run with it. :lol:. When in doubt with college admissions either go Einstein or bungee cord jumper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverland Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Alright hive mind I promise this will be the last question for a while but this is something that has been gnawing away at me for quite some time. I have read how important extracurriculars are but now half way through my 10th grade year I have none :glare:. I am a traveler and have gone cross country twice and I am about again soon. I don't stay in places longer than 3 months but if I do stay longer I usually don't know. This means that I really can't commit to places. Also some of the areas I go don't really have any volunteer options by the time I get there since their high school kids are trying to get hours also. I will most likely start school next year and will probably be joining every club and sport so that I can enjoy my high school years. 9th grade -Dance (Flamenco and Ballet) 6months -Tae Kwon Do (Yellow Belt) 5 months 10th Grade -nothing :glare: Extracurriculars are important, but so are things that make you unique. Your situation is definitely unique. There are usually essay questions like "Describe an Event the Changed Your Life." Write about your RV adventures, and you will stand out from other applicants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerPoppy Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Extracurriculars are important, but so are things that make you unique. Your situation is definitely unique. There are usually essay questions like "Describe an Event the Changed Your Life." Write about your RV adventures, and you will stand out from other applicants. I agree. Everything has a season. Right now, you're in the season of traveling. I would try to suck as much out of that experience as you can by exploring and attending events in each location. I'm sorry; I didn't look at your blog so forgive me if you're already doing something like this. Maybe you can do a hobby related to traveling. Extracurriculars don't necessarily need to be traditional classes that are committed to and paid for. Getting out there and having life experiences *IS* extracurricular in my book! Enjoy this season while it lasts. :) And use it to your advantage on college applications. Anybody can take a class, but not everybody gets a chance to do what you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Your travels will be good, but you do need some other things. Volunteer hours are great. There are always places to volunteer. Sort food at a food bank Serve food at a shelter Visit and read to people in a nursing home Read at story time at the library Library book.sales always.need volunteers Make up your own service project. I set up a program to teach dance at a special needs elementary school, they loved it. Any nonprofit will find something for a volunteer to do....just give them your name Meals o. Wheels and other such services. Need help with prep and delivery, they might even connect you to a group in your next town. Do you like to paint? Contact a local community theatre. They always need help. Habitat for Humanity is always building There are groups that help the elderly living alone with housework. There is no way the public school kids have taken all the volunteer jobs, maybe the more fun ones....but not all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandigirl Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 I participate a lot in festivals and events when we go places. I also help my sister with her junior ranger programs I have a website terrenomar.com. You can see some of the stuff I have done there. Its ok that you have not read my blog its really not that great yet but its a work in progress. I was actually thinking of writing a book on my travel that I have already started. Trust me when you travel some of the things you see are unbelievable. Think of a 40 ft rig going down a highway with black ice in the middle of a blizzard using portable heaters to defrost our windshield so our dad could see. I love my life :lol: Also my mom works and we have one car so sometimes going places for extracurricular is not easy but I will try when we do our next move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Alright hive mind I promise this will be the last question for a while but this is something that has been gnawing away at me for quite some time. I have read how important extracurriculars are but now half way through my 10th grade year I have none :glare:. I am a traveler and have gone cross country twice and I am about again soon. I don't stay in places longer than 3 months but if I do stay longer I usually don't know. This means that I really can't commit to places. Also some of the areas I go don't really have any volunteer options by the time I get there since their high school kids are trying to get hours also. I will most likely start school next year and will probably be joining every club and sport so that I can enjoy my high school years. 9th grade -Dance (Flamenco and Ballet) 6months -Tae Kwon Do (Yellow Belt) 5 months 10th Grade -nothing :glare: Is there an organization that you like that would have affiliates in lots of places. Something where you might start with one chapter and then be able to transfer your work to others. In other words, pick an area you want to volunteer with and do it across many locations. Have you tried local parks departments? They frequently have short term projects or one time tasks that need to be done. If you are a member of a faith denomination, perhaps they would have things you could do from place to place. Where does your family put the RV? Could you do a trash pick up or some landscaping or playground repairs or organize a free book library or something similar? What about political campaigns? This is certainly the season. Maybe you could do envelope stuffing or other similar work for various offices for the same candidate. You might want to look up Lone Scouts. This is a program for Boy Scouts that is often joined by youth who travel a lot. I've seen some fun blogs by varioius Lone Scouts. It might give you some good ideas for projects. (And since Venturing is coed, you could even join as a Lone Scout if it looked interesting.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I participate a lot in festivals and events when we go places. I also help my sister with her junior ranger programs I have a website terrenomar.com. You can see some of the stuff I have done there. Its ok that you have not read my blog its really not that great yet but its a work in progress. I was actually thinking of writing a book on my travel that I have already started. Trust me when you travel some of the things you see are unbelievable. Think of a 40 ft rig going down a highway with black ice in the middle of a blizzard using portable heaters to defrost our windshield so our dad could see. I love my life :lol: Also my mom works and we have one car so sometimes going places for extracurricular is not easy but I will try when we do our next move. If you're doing a lot of visits to NPS sites, you could set up some volunteer activities with them. There is a form to fill out for volunteers, but you could probably save a copy once you fill it out and submit it to each new park. Start with a park where you are now. Then when you are getting ready to relocate, ask the volunteer coordinator to help you find a place to volunteer in the new location. You could even ask for a letter of referral or letter of introduction. This link is specifically about the Grand Canyon, but it has some interesting ideas and links. Another place that frequently uses volunteers around my area are food banks. One program that caught my eye is a food bank that coordinates harvesters for a local USDA experimental farm. The farm is interested in recording growth and yields, but not in using the actual food. This same food bank also collects produce at the end of the day from farmers' market vendors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandigirl Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hello well I really do not put the RV anywhere because I live in it full time. The boy scout thing seems cool I will look into it. As far as the national parks we dont stay in them long enough to do something. We also don't live near any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 There are lots of short term volunteer experiences available, however, I think what a lot of colleges look for is depth as much as breadth. So, if you find one national organization to hook up with you can gain even more experience than constantly shifting gears. There are lots of other extracurriculars you could do that don't involve volunteering. You could write/blog about your travels and what makes your situation unique. You could write a play, etc. You could enter 5k races in every city you visit. I'd look at what your interests are and become creative with them. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hello well I really do not put the RV anywhere because I live in it full time. The boy scout thing seems cool I will look into it. As far as the national parks we dont stay in them long enough to do something. We also don't live near any. Often the volunteer work at state and national parks is for a day or a half day, doing a work project of some type, so sounds kind of perfect for a traveler. You usually do have to sign up ahead of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandigirl Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 I actually do have a blog its in my signature and my website is terrenomar.com I had a blog that had like 7 months of post and the company I was using as a platform crashed and I lost 7 months of post´s. I almost cried :( Anyway I have a new blog and I am constantly updating. I am already researching things to do in the city I am going to which we are between a few now. Thank You all for your help. You have helped me see all the things I need to fix and that my portfolio is far from perfect now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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