Addicted to Philanthropy

Can you be addicted to Philanthropy? I think I am.

Donations? Sure, where do I send the money or stuff?

Promotion of a good cause? Even easier - I'll post it on my blog, Facebook and Twitter.


Volunteering my time? Yes, of course I...wait. Maybe not. But I will try anyway!

As I strive for BALANCE in my life, it is really difficult to turn down chances to help others. I say "YES!" before I think or even check my schedule. But is it really that bad? I'm not sure.

Let's look what volunteer activities I have scheduled or participated in the last week and upcoming.


Sunday - San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Board meeting. (I am the President this year, so I cannot skip these monthly meetings, and all the assignments that go with them).

Wednesday - Hillsdale Middle School Builder's Club - Teaching kids to use the Knifty Knitter to knit hats for babies which are given out all over the world. Helping each week for the rest of the semester.

Thursday - Drumming up HOPE, Fundraising for Haiti. One time event.

Saturday - SDSU Mortar Board Senior Honor Society's Backpack Stuffing of school supplies to give to under privileged children. One time event.

This is in addition to my college schedule, work schedule, art making, scholarship applying, show entering, personal obligations, study time and dare I even say it...social/personal life? 

I did say that I was giving up overachieving this year. But am I really?

It is hard to maintain this Superwoman lifestyle, but each week I schedule more and more into my packed life. So it must be my Addiction to Philanthropy.

I am hooked on helping others, even when sometimes I would rather play video games than to go help.  

The first step to addiction is to admit you have a problem. So here is my confession.

Anyone else addicted to helping? ~ Jaime Lyerly

Nerdiest Art Major EVER!

Today was a shock! In my Life Drawing class today, we did two three-minute warm ups with charcoal. Then my instructor said we were going to move on to something else. As I am drinking my tea and cleaning off charcoal from fingers, I look up to see about 5 people all in black graduation caps and gowns. My heart skipped and I got all shaky. They call out my name, and I raise my hand. They read the following piece of paper aloud to my class:

"Jaime Lyerly is an Art major and a Psychology minor with a 3.93 GPA. She is a member of Scholars Without Borders, the SDSU Foundry Co-Op, the Women's Caucus for Art, the Association of Nontraditional Students in Higher Education and the American Association of University Women. Jaime volunteers at the Women's History Museum and Educational Center and (formerly) Avocado Elementary School where she gave monthly art lessons and has helped redesign the entire Art Docent program to include multimedia"

I stood there shocked as they pinned a little blue ribbon to my shirt and handed me a black folder with my name and Mortar Board written on it. I mumbled a thank you and my instructor asked them to tell the class more about this society. I waited patiently to get back to drawing.

I was selected for the Mortar Board, a senior Honor Society my university, San Diego State University. Out of about 3,000 eligible students, I am one of the 41 selected. There are over 33,000 students at SDSU, so I am in the top 1% of the university.

The students must apply, and be outstanding in all three areas of Service, Scholarship and Leadership. We must have great grades, professional and leadership affiliations, service to our communities, and have a recommendation from a former professor who thinks we are super. The trick is that they don't send you a nice letter or email notifying you. They notify the selected by "tapping" you unexpectedly during your classes. This is what I experienced today!

So I have officially earned the title of "Nerdiest Art Major EVER!"

Thanks for letting me share my accomplishments with you. Will be posting some more art related stuff soon, so come back to my blog often!

Until next time, keep creating your dreams! ~ Jaime