Great Serving #2: The Plan

6 comments

Posted by Jenny Combs on Nov 14, 2010 in Service Scholars, United States | 6 comments

Great Serving #2: The Plan

In my last post, I talked about great ideas – where they come from and that we should act on them. But how is it that we are able to take abstract concepts and turn them into real-life scenarios?

An article I read recently about the invention process gave several steps to making your idea come to fruition:

1. The first step to becoming an inventor and coming up with an invention is to begin recognizing problems. (Problem Recognition)

2. The second step is to think of a way to fix the problem.

3. The third step is to reduce the idea to practice (i.e. the knowledge of how to fix the problem or make the idea work). This is the inventive step.

My pioneer idea, as I mentioned last week, was life-stories. My experience followed these steps – the Chaplain at Family Comfort recognized that some patients wanted their experiences to be remembered after they died. He and I collaborated on the idea of possibly recording these memories. The next part was a little shaky.

I didn’t have a detailed plan of what I was going to do. I knew the basics: I would go into a patient’s home and somehow record their life stories over a period of time. Then I would type all of my notes up and give copies to the family once the patient died. There were obviously things I wasn’t sure of – like how to record the stories, or even how to get the patient to tell their whole life story. There were definite gaps.

That’s where trial and error came in. My first life story was very different from what I expected it to be. I had prepared some questions to jog the patient’s memory, and had brought along my laptop to the patient’s house. The patient was extremely hard of hearing, and I found myself struggling to help her understand all the questions. I would repeat them louder and louder until finally she understood. She was able to answer them well, and I would type her answers as she responded. I spent about 3 hours with the patient until all the questions I had were answered. As soon as I got home, I immediately began typing up a continuous narrative, told from the third person perspective. The next day, the patient died.

Giving my finished life story to the family was a moment I will never forget. I suddenly saw that everything I had worked on was worth the time and effort. Those families will always have a keepsake that may be able to last for generations.

Since that first time, I have honed the process and made some changes to my process. I now use the FliP Video – which allows me to actually film the patients as they answer my questions, and gives the family something else to cherish. I no longer take notes on my laptop because holding it became too cumbersome. Instead I’ve developed a short hand which helps immensely.

Planning and making your idea actually come to be is the hardest part of the invention process. It’s also the most rewarding. Knowing that you came up with a creative solution to solve a problem, then making those ideas happen is indescribable. Even more amazing is knowing that you helped other people in the process.

Sources: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Invention-Process-Steps&id=2774974

Jenny Combs

Team 2: Servant Scholars

Grade 11

Alabaster, Alabama

About the author

Jenny Combs Jenny Combs, 16, Evangel Classical Christian School, Alabaster, AL - East Villagers has given me the opportunity to see that community service and volunteerism isn’t just about others – it has shown me more about myself than I ever would have imagined. The Service Scholar Intern position would allow me to partner with others on a worldwide scale, in addition to opening my eyes to humanitarian issues. I think that the internship will provide me with a great opportunity to expound upon my writing skills and ability to succeed under deadlines.

6 Responses to “Great Serving #2: The Plan”

  1. Joy says:
    November 15, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    The service project that you’ve developed definitely sounds like a rewarding one. Thanks for sharing it with us!

    I agree that putting the plans into action is the inventive and often hardest step. It takes motivation, planning, and a lot of flexibility.

    reply
  2. Karina L says:
    November 21, 2010 at 9:25 am

    Also, look who won CNN Hero!

    http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/11/21/cnnheroes.hero.of.year/index.html

    reply

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