Returning the Favor

Hello, my name is Jeanne Pascua and I'm one of Professor Holladay's English 101 students. On October 23rd, I had to participate in the Dockweiler clean up for service learning. To be honest, this event makes me reminisce when I used to be part of K.E.Y. Club in Eagle Rock High School. I had to do 60 hours of community service by the end of senior year. People may misinterpret this club for making "keys," but it's false. We had to help out the community by attending various events such as clean ups. Similarly, the last event I attended on my senior year helped the environment just like this clean up. We had to plant trees at Highland Park.

Attending this event was a wonderful experience; excluding the fact that I had to wake up early on a Sunday. Professor Holladay generously provided transportation for me. Since my dad was unfamiliar with the beach, this was very convenient. The clean up wasn't an individual activity. We had to form a group of four and carry one or two bags per group. My clean up group mates were: Luis Martinez, my English 101 teacher herself, and her daughter. We mainly cleaned near the coastline and encountered: candy wrappers, cigarette butts, eaten fruits, and other plastic material. Most of the trash we found were similar. Candy wrappers were a common sight. In my opinion, the most interesting trash that Luis encountered during the clean up was coal. I wouldn't know why coal would be sitting near the coastline unless it traveled through the ocean. A couple of things that he found that were also interesting were squeezed lemon slices. My professor assumes that people were having Tequila shots with lemon. Personally, the only interesting thing I've found was a sponge ball buried inside the sand. I had to excavate it. It was difficult to find something strange near the coastline rather than what I just mentioned. Apparently, it was the most famous location among other clean up volunteers.

I decided to take the bus back home with a friend of mine. Not only did I feel great about helping but I also experienced taking the Metro Line for the first time. One thing that disappointed me was how I didn't get to pick up trash aside from the candy wrappers. It was also difficult to take photos while cleaning up; particularly with dirty gloves on. Frankly, I was surprised when I found out that this beach was owned by Cal State L.A.

I believe that this was a terrific event especially for those who've never helped out their community. I wish that the majority would attend events such as these even if it isn't an assignment. As a student, I'm considering to volunteer for future clean ups. Since Mother Nature allowed us to manipulate her, we should return the favor.