Currently I am enrolled in the T.A.G. program (Talented and Gifted), and as a TAG student I haven been given an assignment for the next month or so...
1. Develop an idea for a service project
2. Go out into the world and make it happen!
Pretty simple the only rules of this project are that A. it must have a tangible goal, and B. whatever this project may be, it must exist in the higher spectrum of intelligence, and C. it had to wrap the meanings of art and intelligence and service into it as these were our central themes for the unit. Making this project as open as a Tupperware bowl with no bottom. When I got the assignment I was afraid and confused as to how I was going to manage to do this, but I knew that somehow I would wrap my own interests into it in order to make it unique. I was lost for some time, until I finally came to a conclusion on what my service project would be! I was going to work hard, put in a 110%, so that I could not only help the community but change the views of people. I was going to do this by using the only thing I could.
As average as I may be, my interests are anything but that. I am a self-proclaimed nerd. I love reading Fantasy books, watching Sci-Fi, and "worst" of all I love playing Dungeons and Dragons. I participate in LARPs (Live Action Role Playing). I sew renaissance fair costumes, and I'm quite fond of drinking Mountain Dew while having lengthy conversations about the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, or 11th century warfare. I'm a hopeless nerd, and I'll admit it in a heart beat! The question though was how could I turn that passion for all things geeky into a project that existed in the higher spectrum of intelligence and benefited man kind in some way? I had no idea.
I soon came to an idea though. Dungeons and Dragons is a game that is very dear to me. It defines me, and at one point it made me who I am today. D&D is known for a lot of negative false hoods, but what they never tell people is all the therapeutic good it does for people with a wide range of problems.
"Over the years D&D has received some very bad press. Some right-wing nut jobs think its linked to satanic worship and black magic. Others have linked it to suicide and violence. All this is rubbish. Dungeons & Dragons gave me a safe environment to learn vital life skills that because of my dyslexia, the education system had singularly failed to provide me. For tens of thousands of bright teenagers with dyslexia, asperges, ADHD and other educational problems, this fantasy game has provided a safe haven in which to learn, explore and to grow."
Leon Lewis Jr.
I really think the above quote really sums my message up. D&D is a great way for those that sometimes fall between the cracks to be able to grow creatively, socially, and it helps one to build basic math skills. D&D has helped me, one such teenager who suffers from ADD, to grow into myself so very much. I used to be very anti-social and generally afraid of people. My comfort level was null and I was miserable, but in my freshmen year I was presented with an object that would forever improve my life. The 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons, Player's Handbook.With this book I jumped head first into the hobby of D&D. I met new people and began to share my creative imaginative mind with the world.
D&D gave me a place to be myself, and when I began dungeon mastering (running) a small group each week I felt like I was comfortable, and not only that but I was providing that same friendly environment to others like me.
So I have decided that for my TAG service project I will expand that invitation to all the people in my community that have ever felt that theres no one else like them in the world. I want to share the happiness that I get from D&D, and role playing in general with the community. I want to spread the wonderful game of D&D in order to encourage creativity. To be able to give others the same push I got freshmen year.
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