HELLO, hello!

Hi! My name is Samuel T. Quach, a current Junior in high school from the great state of New York who is currently residing in the beautiful huge state of Texas.

A bit about me (I’ve had a blast during my time in high school): but, like your resume, the list should really be narrowed down to most proud of and done for. There are three things that are most near and dear to my heart as extracurricular activities:

•             Current Academics Team Commander, Company Guidon Bearer, and Cadet Chief Petty Officer (as well as a member of multiple teams) in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC); previously the Color Detail Commander, a graduate of Basic Leadership Training (BLT-aka Boot Camp), and awarded the Military Officers Association of America medal (for the most potential for future leadership), the Backbone Award (for accomplishments done that are usually unawarded or otherwise unrecognized), Honor Cadet, as well as multiple Outstanding Cadet awards.
•           Current Key Club President; formerly the Club Bulletin Editor/Webmaster/Parliamentarian, and has had an article featured in the Texas-Oklahoma Key Club Publication
•             Experienced Vietnamese Teacher/Teacher’s Assistant for three years at a local church, and starting this year a Co-Catechist for a Catholic Continuing Education class.

In my spare time, I love to read as well as (ha) dreaming. I also love to eat durian! I’m an introvert, but during high school I’ve come out of my shell quite a bit.

It’s a great honor and pleasure to be part of the effort this blog was created for: to guide others towards being the best they can be during high school through their extracurriculars.

Take note: everything that any of us writers put on this blog is solely our opinion and philosophy gained in long, long experience. Keep in mind your context in relation to the writers’; notice, for instance, that all three of us are leaders within our beloved organization, Key Club. Therefore, not everything we say will hold true in all cases. Heck, we writers might even disagree with one another (we tend to agree on most things) once in awhile.

Do your best to take which advice will be the best for you-the environment truly influences your experiences. All three of us writers are different in our own ways (which is why every person on Earth is truly unique-that’s what makes this world so beautiful and colorful), but I hope that I can give two perspectives that the other two can’t: 1) I’m a guy. 2) I don’t live in California.   

I tend to focus onto personal qualities and smaller based guidance; I try to keep everything I put up short and sweet, because in doing so what I say through these articles will have a more meaningful impact. Truly blessed to have this opportunity to share my experiences, and I look forward to seeing you all in the future!

~SQ

Member (Pins) Induction Ceremony.
Somethings are darkened for privacy.

Getting the Toys from the Toybox- Getting Your Members

~Let's take a journey together, and let reality mix with the dream realm~

Next stop, to the land of toys to find your players.

The next step in preparing for a successful term for any club is to figure out your core members. This will tend to vary from club to club. Clubs should be open and friendly to ALL member who come in regardless of who you hate, have a grudge against or any other miscellaneous drama that happened. When you are in any extracurricular - try not to bring other affairs into it and be professional. Even if someone you don't like is in the club, it doesn't mean that members should just leave for that sole reason. So it's time to go to school and do some research.

What kind of people will fit into your club and who can you see becoming active, dedicated and not only will be impacted by the club but bring their own positive impact into the club? Finding members is a lot like casting new actors or actresses for a play or choosing a toy - before you go jumping to conclusions that I'm saying members are like toys and get offended think of it this way; all those little toys you had as a kid? The ones you played with, the ones that you held when you got scared or didn't understand what was going on and treated like a real person (heck I even put a seatbelt on for them)? We should take really good care of our toys, no matter if we threw them around as kids and wanted the new shinier toy - at some point or other they took really good care of us (I'm pretty sure I pulled this from Toy Story). Anyways, like an actor or actresses, you can have drama - loads of it. It's really inevitable, anything you want to do will come to drama; all that you can do is change the way you look at it.

So it's time to get to work. What kind of toys are there?

• Puzzles and Rubik's Cube
• These members have a tendency to ask many questions, but they are also the types who like to create problems, probably even more so than they solve problems. They have a tendency to get confused and other types like to point out contradictions. They tend to be a bit pessimistic,though the ones who are less confident in themselves are pessimistic about if they can do it right so they ask you questions to the point where they're asking atomic-level details; the more confident members tend to be pessimistic about others and make generalized assumptions - so you'll have to work with these members to solve not only their questions but making sure you snap them out of their pessimistic daze.
• Barbies and Dollies
• These members are really good at following directions and getting involved but often you have to do some string-pulling to get them to be on the same page as you. They’re flexible and can works in numerous environments as well. They usually come in groups - so if you have one doll in a collection - you probably can get the rest. They can be a bit plastic times and won’t really do more than the minimum requirement so really try to push them to do things for themselves and set goals and misc. so that way you’re not always pulling the strings.
• Action Figures
• These are the type of members who always - as the name implies - jump into action and try to be the hero or jokester of the day. Sometimes these members tend to get carried away in their own fantasies and they’ll completely forget what they are originally supposed to do. Just try to play along and make it so that they have a healthy mix of  fantasies with reality. These members also tend to get into fights easily, so when it’s all cannons ahead - as you can assume - it’s could be difficult to derail back to the original topic so try to keep a vigilant eye for any fights.
• Stuffed Animals
• These members are good at listening, you can talk to them and they will remember even the most minute details. Getting these members to events isn’t all too difficult, but it’s to actually to get them to work instead of chatting/gossiping/taking selfies/eating that’s the challenge. As far as I know, they’re pretty harmless when you are on their good side.
• Yo-yos and Spinning tops -
• These members are super-active and go getters. Concepts will easily click, they’ll ask you questions, ideas and tons more. One problem could be is that they strive a bit too far and they fall of the string/table. You’ll probably have to keep them on a tight string and ground them a bit, but once you get used to them, you’ll be pulling some amazing tricks in no time!
• Noisemakers
• These members are extremely loud! They love to make noise, drama, and bend as many rules as possible until you just want to pull your hair out. That’s their goal, anyways. There’s two sides to this spectrum. They love to make a big deal about not following the rules, or following the rules. They generally just mess with you to step on your toes - earn their respect and they’ll all play to the tune of your drum.
• Magic 8 Ball
• Leaders who are more inclined to leading/planning/organizing and doing all the administrative work than they want to do what the club is actually about. They'll be the people who come up to you and give you ideas, advice, etc. You should probably spread them out to engage other members - activeness is contagious. Though, their only flaw is that they tend to forget the whole passion side of an extracirriculars. There's a difference between doing something to just do it, and to do something because you love it.
• Etch-a-sketch
• Members who are very straightforward and blunt, they critique but seldom say what they want to since they have a tendency to go in circles(Or should I say squares?) They can be so straightforward that they go off the plane and once they leave the train station - let’s just say it’s hard to get them to think of much else. This member will make many assumptions but they usually take their time to think things through before they show their thoughts, but once you have them on board, it’s full trains ahead.
• Play-doh
• Mooches of the club who join for college apps or for class requirements and usually have fun for the club they don't really do much to help the club they are volatile members and only come to usually get what they want. Normally some of these members can be dedicated, but you'll probably have to put forward more than what you get back - but usually it's worth it. Just like play-doh it's a lot of conditioning and messing around to try to get your member to work with you and many times these members will take many shapes and backgrounds so not only will you be shaping them but you'll have to be flexible like play-doh to find their niche in the club.   
• Tamagotchis
• Members who are extremely shy but want to help and have some really good ideas but you have to help them along and help them break their shell and usher them in the right direction to get involved and help them.
• Tinkertoys
• The really creative members who have the best ideas for service events, they're very passionate about what they do and they know what it's all about. They tend to be absorbed in their work that they forget the original requirements so they are not all the best leaders and are not super organized or good at molding to fit any mold, so it's best to try and find a creative outlet for them to do their own thing.

         There's plenty more toys that you can choose from, far more than I can list and explain, you just have to find them. Don't doubt any toys/members because they all come with their own instructions - but a majority of the time, people don't use the instructions or they stick too close to them so they are unable to bring out the full capacity of a certain toys. After all if yo-yo -ers (?) stuck to the same old routine, we wouldn't have the amazing tricks they do today? It's all a matter of whether you are willing to put in the resources and the effort to make each member shine that will make one of the most productive clubs as well as fun and efficient.

        For example, just as one person, I find that if I focus on a specific group of people I can easily get them more involved. My method is that I usually target groups, sometimes the leader - but I like to focus on all the members and talk to them one on one and ask them if they are going to this event, if they need rides, how they are doing and I try to get to know them as people. So far my efforts have proven fruitful, but not exactly on the scale I would like. I've gotten a key group to become involved in clubs like Key club and I've gotten them to inspire their friends to join - but if their efforts in the chain reaction are fruitful, you can never be sure until that time comes. It always feels good to be acknowledged as your own person - and to know that people are going to look out for you.

       One good method of governing is to work in a manner that makes things easiest for your members. You don't want to inconvenience your members, if they need forms to go to an event, or if they need a ride always offer them - don't leave them out just because they "seem busy" truth is a majority of the time "I had homework," is an irrelevant excuse that noone really questions - since we can't really gauge the capacity or the amount or difficulty of every person. Everyone has homework; my reasoning is whether they were willing to put in the effort and passion to maintain that homeostasis between their obligations and things they actually want to do and actually come to an event and balance that homework.

       One of your biggest goals for members is not only get members who you can influence and teach and help but find members that can make a difference; these members are hidden "wild cards" or kind of like shiny Pokemon. You have to do some searching in order to find them and preparing them doesn't always work out. Sometimes you'll find you pulled a blunt and you'll just have to cut your losses or you may have pulled a blunt and it became a complete success after tons of effort. When your members leave your club, sport or whatever activity this may be - they should leave with a fountain and a grain of salt and be able to go on for hours and have to be stopped when they talk about the curricular.  Once you find that you inspired or helped someone become passionate about something, it's extremely gratifying. I’m not saying to be controlling like another overbearing parent - but be someone that members can look up to; someone that they strive to be. Like a little kid dressing up in his parents/older siblings clothes and playing with their toys, and you’ll see what I mean.

Until next time dreamers - sweet dreams, 

~Marilyn Nguyen

P.S. Handling your responsibilities is great, but there's some times where you need Peter Pan and you just need to remember what it was like to be a kid again.

It's All Peachy Until It's Impeachy.

~Let's take a journey together, and let reality mix with the dream realm~

It's a sunny day, you're outside smelling the freshly bloomed flowers and bees buzzing about. You take a your basket and you approach a tree. You set the basket down and reach for a fruit. Your basket gets fills with  and you reach for one more you stretch up and up... 

          So you've decided to join the ranks and become a board member then in that case you should also know about impeachment. Just as easily as you are on the board, you can be taken off too, so don't expect to sit pretty all day! You'll be working your butt off, questioning why you even got yourself into this, but when you finish you are going to feel accomplished, walking away from the experience a stronger and wiser person.
         What do you need to think about if you want to run for a position?

• What position can I run for (you usually can only run for one position don't go for the power, but something you the one you think will suit you most)?
• A majority of the time people campaign. Do not campaign like say "Vote for me," or bring people just to vote for you, or say "As this position, I will blah blah blah," it's unsportsmanlike behavior and make sure to clear it up when elections begin so other candidates know it's not allowed either. Only do it if it's allowed.
• If you are on the board this usually means you are not above members, you have more responsibility to take care of other members. The higher up you are, it usually means you serve more people. One thing many people don't understand is, board positions are for people to serve others, not yourself. You come into it for the resume, but the main purpose of the role is to help everyone else.
• Do I have time in my schedule for this position?

Okay, so usually you either volunteer or someone else volunteers you for the position, so what to do to prepare... hmm. Of course, most likely many people wait until the last minute to prepare, but always make sure you have prepared SOMETHING. It shows if you haven't put enough effort, so don't go up just to make a fool of yourself, go up fighting!

So what do you need for armor?

• A speech - obvi. You should have a speech tailored to the position your running for, talk for a bit about yourself, a bit about how you're qualified, how you joined the club your goals you want to attain if you win the election. Don't say "as this position, I will blah blah blah," it implies you know you are going to win, and it's not nice to the other people running. Be truthful, people can tell when your words are not coming from your heart. If you don't know something, take it in a manner that you will work on finding out about it.
• Do your research - if you didn't know, you should probably research about the club because it shows you put in effort and be sure to know how to answer basic questions like your goals for the term, or at least know how to properly reject a question without offending anyone. Researching is good, be sure to check with senior members that are willing to help you out/seem very involved in the club. They can probably direct you on what to look for.
• An outfit- Of course you don't want to be flashy, but you don't want to be a slob either. Be professional about how you dress, not gaudy. If the specific club you are running for has a mascot or they have themes you could wear clothes that correlate with the mascot colors, if not: like if you are running for anime club, obviously you could wear an anime shirt, a blazer, jeans and flats. Always dress one step ahead of the position you are running for.
• Smile- If you feel like it, you could throw in something funny to your speech and try to make everyone smile before you start. It will encourage you and help ease the tension.

So usually how it should be in most clubs, they have candidates running for the same position wait outside during the speeches and the voting to keep it anonymous. After this, you will either be elected or not. If you don't win, don't be sad, it just means there's something else out there for you. Don't be discouraged from ever going running again, it just means you've got more to improve on - if you don't see it the way I see it you should probably watch Meet the Robinsons- moral of the story, it doesn't matter what happens, it's already happened, all that you can do about it is change how you feel about it. Other than that, everything should be peachy fine and fun. 

Soooo.. on the topic of elections, you should  know what happens when something goes wrong, when something goes.. impeachy.

Impeachment- A formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome depends on the club but mainly consists the removal of the official from office. -Wikipedia
This is a very touchy topic, as a member, no you don't technically have the power to impeach someone. Just because you know what it is, it does not mean you are allowed to impeach left and right, it's a power that should be used frugally, not abused. It's commonly used by board members who are behind the scenes and understand what's going on - many members don't really see everything that goes on behind the scenes, so you may have some misunderstandings. Here's a recap on some reasoning I've commonly heard of for impeaching people and show where you could be mistaken.

• Does the person know what they are doing? If one of the reasons is that they aren't doing it "right," or that they "have no idea what ______ club is about," even if you are a member PLEASE EDUCATE YOUR BOARD MEMBERS. Note that all board members come into the position with no clue what they got themselves into, so if you have to teach them what its all about, give them advice, direct them in the right direction. If you think they don't do anything, make sure you double check to see if they really don't do anything, if they don't do their work everyone else has to work harder to cover for them, so watch out for that. If it does happen, talk to the board and see if they are willing to talk to that person - if you are a board member keep in mind you should keep your private life and your work life separated as much as you can to avoid drama and misunderstanding.
  
  
• Does the person not attend events/ leave early? CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF. Sometimes board members have a valid reason for not showing or leaving early. Just ask what they were doing or why they weren't there. You can do this for members as well - it's a really good way to show you care about each member, even if it is a ton of work it helps with the unity of the club. If the reasons are not valid, consult other board members to check. (I don't have a rule of thumb to measure this, but you shouldn't leave unless dismissed. )
  
  
• Does the person act inappropriately and gossip all over the place - even to members? This topic is very touchy - gossiping is a given for anyone, since we're in the 21st century. But board should be selective about who they unload their complaints to, which should be fellow board members NOT MEMBERS. No member much less person wants to hear something mean or cruel and come back to deal with it over and over again. If you see inappropriate behavior, be sure to deal with it with a quick hand so it won't happen again or get worse.
  
  
• Does the person not abide by basic club values(which usually are caring, character building, leadership and inclusiveness [and professionalism, it differs based on club]) board's should show that they care about members or the quality of their work. Board members should always have an open eye on the lookout for people who need help developing - for example if you see someone who seems to have the potential to be a dedicated member, befriend them, give them rides, advice and when they need a little nudge in the right direction go for it. Not only is that character building, but it's also inclusiveness and leadership. Inclusiveness is including everyone - no one gets left behind. You shouldn't leave members out because you think they won't come or they have too many extracurricular activities. You help them even if they don't need it,talk to them, make sure that they know you care. You all come for different reasons from different backgrounds and histories in all clubs we can either forget about our differences and work together to have fun or we can celebrate our differences. 

Until next time dreamers-sweet dreams,

~Marilyn Nguyen

Let the Dream Begin

So it seems you want to join a club! 

It doesn't hurt to join a new club and meet new people with the same interests as you and I really implore you to try it. Not only does it help you get to know others, but yes as many people do if you become an actual member you can put it on your resume. That's usually the number one reason why people join clubs. Right below I'll list the biggest reasons that people join clubs (in no particular order).

1. To put it on your resume.
2. You joined with a friend or to make friends
3. You were actually curious what the club was about or genuinely interested.
4. You wandered into the room and got caught by someone and for some mysterious reason that you refuse to admit, you were roped into keep on coming.
5. More exposure in the yearbook.
6. Or you're a returning member.

There's actually several things you should think about for joining a club.

• Does it apply to your interests? Your future career?
• Why you need to know this is mainly because clubs can help you decide what your next step of action will be - whether it's what college you want to go to with your local school honor society to what career path you want to take from mock trial to fashion club to misc. other clubs. 
• Some clubs that can be helpful are community service clubs like Key Club or Interact (otherwise known as Rotoract) these clubs do a variety of community service activities and help you understand how basic organizations act (since various career fields like the medical, law or educational field have them, it can be mandatory to join.) you'll be able to get a gist of how things work for in the future when you're in those fields.
• When and where do they meet? Does this happen to clash with other club meeting times?
• Why you need to know this is a bit obvious! You can usually find out from your counselors or daily bulletin/broadcast. Sometimes meetings overrun and make you late for other things or you can overbook yourself! Join to have fun, not stress yourself out.
• What kind of club is this? How well are they run/governed? (if you don't like the way a club is governed, don't disregard it! This could be your chance. )
• Many times clubs will have a board, and you'll want to know not how they function, but if the board (or basically the people in charge) are effective. Find people that have been involved with this club for at least 1-2 years. Ask them if you think there are any inefficiencies or things they don't like about the club. 
• DO NOT ASK IN FRONT OF EVERYONE PLEASE. Keep this on the down low, don't be rude and instead discuss this outside when the board members cannot hear you. Frankly, nobody would like it if they heard someone straight out ask, "What's do you not like about this club?" and frankly people answer truthfully without thinking too much, so it could offend some people and lead to unnecessary drama.
• Some clubs are more official (not prominent or special, just more official) than others. You'll find that many clubs begin with, "I call this meeting to order at ____ time," this is usually done for keeping minutes and knowing what exactly happened at each meeting (this is kept by the secretary and turned in to the office) while other clubs are more casual and leisurely like a hangout with friends. 
• If you find you don't like the way a club is run and you may think that this is just another 'resume club' (or a club that does not do anything productive and was found on the basis of putting something on their resume to look more impressive) you can either direct the board on activities you can do, or you can wait until elections and do things yourself. Though this does involve risks because you don't know whether the club will still be up by that time.
•  What kind of people are in this club? Why did they start/join this club? 
• You'll want  to know the basic environment of the club, it's no fun to go to a club just to have a depressing mood after. You usually want to leave smiling ,satisfied or wanting more. Look for friendly or comfortable environments for yourself, if there is a sort of rigid barrier since you're new don't be afraid to introduce yourself, smile and say hello to everyone. It takes a few tries! Don't get discouraged!
• What is a routine meeting like?
• This really varies from club to club. Meetings can be prompt and quick, consist of updating members on upcoming events or informing members about new opportunities. Some meetings will have pot lucks, some will have movies and treats, or ice breakers. DON'T JOIN CLUBS JUST BECAUSE YOU GET TREATS. Treats are nice but WE ALL KNOW what happened to Hansel and Gretel.
• What kind of history/ events has this club had?
• If this club has had a history: some clubs are significantly older - or well-aged. Like wine/cheese. These clubs tend to be more official clubs or have a steady supply of members.
•  Infant clubs are more volatile these clubs usually can be difficult to get started and get the word out so don't blame the board members! 
•  Infant clubs usually should surpass at least 2-4 years of age to surpass infancy so we know that they are stable, even then all clubs are volatile in their own sense, since it's difficult to get more involved members.

Okay, so I know this is a huge list of details to know and you may think that it's not necessary to know, but to be a good member, remember even if you join with ulterior motives, you should join with respect to those who put effort into making it all happen. You can always join with bad motives, just later on try to understand that it's not easy to organize events and get people to show up. Don't belittle other peoples hard work because you don't like the way they do it - it's not reasonable since you didn't see how much stress they went through into making it happen.

 Anyways, after that little rant yes, clubs and extra circulars take work. 

"REALLY? I HAD NO IDEA."

Wake up and smell the coffee darling, if you want to get involved you have to do the work and bust your hump! Meetings are only a small percent of what clubs and extracurriculars are, there's training, orientations, concerts, fundraisers and many more things you could get involved in.

Does it cost money?

It can, but if you work with your board and tell them you need help they will help you! They can't read your mind so let them know. Who knows, maybe someone will be willing to help you out and give you some tips to save money or even cover for you. There's always free events, so there's no excuse for you to push out and say "I had no money/ride so I couldn't go," I understand, it's public education and your argument is that everything should be free, but in the real world, things don't work like that.

 You have to put yourself out there, invest in yourself in order to get something back. Whether it's time or money, that's your choice.Schools literally are very troublesome when it comes to clubs so if they are asking for money, don't disregard, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity. 

Anyways, that's where I'll leave you for this, if you have any questions comment below and I'll get back to you ASAP! 

~Let's take a journey together, and let reality mix with the dream realm~
~Marilyn Nguyen

   

Welcome!

     Hello! Welcome to Dream Dealers.  My name is Marilyn Nguyen.  I'm currently writing to you as a high school senior who's about to graduate in a few months! In my high school career, I have been in WEB(We All Belong), Rachel's Challenge,broadcast and drama club in middle school. I've also been a camp counselor at Semperviren's Outdoor Camp, done homecoming for the past 3 years (and won twice in a row), art club, gay straight alliance, key club, speech & debate, photo club, API(Asian Pacific Islander club) and I was even featured in the newspaper in elementary school in the Daily Republic. Anyways, now that you know about my specs and my own experience  first thing I love to say when I introduce myself is I'm awkward and very random. I have my own eccentricities, and it's really hard to peg me down unless I let you, I'm into archetypes and stuff like astrology/astronomy and the Chinese and western zodiac(I'm a leo and a rat. Somehow that combines to make a beaver, although I'm not sure how that works.). The basic sum up of me is an adventurer and a conceptualist. I like to think up huge unrealistic ideas and make them come true - sorta like a miracle worker. I also like to do little random acts of kindness to make people smile.
     So the purpose of this blog is to guide you on everything you need to know and all the grunt work and the behind the scenes action that you don't normally see at school. Most of the things that I write about will either be from my own experience or observation, so in no way can I say that I know how everything works, but I can safely say I have enough understanding to direct you on what your options are if you are still in high school and you've been elected for a club board, or getting involved in your school or just making your school experience fun. You could just graduate, but what's the fun in that?
    This website is still a work in process and under construction and I'm working diligently to getting all the essentials you'll need to know for board elections, running clubs, impeachment and miscellaneous information ASAP! For the most part articles have been finished, pictures will be a new addition coming soon!

Until then, please be patient! 

~Let's take a journey together, and let reality mix with the dream realm~ 

 ~Marilyn Nguyen