Hours are Complete :)

At this point I have completed 16 hours with my mentor, Courtney Zepeda-Hawkes. Mrs. Zepeda-Hawkes has truly been an inspiration to me, as well as an amazing source of guidance for my project. We have actually formed a really nice friendship, and I have bonded with her children as well. I'm sort of sad about being done with the hours! In our last meeting, I attended an event with her at the Jewish Community Center in Charlotte. It was the center's "Israel @ 60" Celebration. Mrs. Zepeda-Hawkes was hired to do henna there and she invited me to be her assistant. The Jewish community enjoys henna tattoos because they cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery if they have a permanent tatoo. Therefore, henna is a temporary alternative. During the day I was in charge of setting the tattoos with a lemon juice and sugar mixture. The little kids definitely made for an interesting experience. We heard a ton of "My brother smeared it!!" or "Is it gonna hurt?!" Although it was extremely hot and I was very tired (prom was the night before), I had a great time and learned a great deal about how to efficiently handle a large henna event.
I also taught a class about the history and art of henna last Thursday, May 8th. My audience were some of Ms. Miller's students who intend on working at the henna booth at the yearbook carnival coming up this Thursday. The students were very attentive and seemed to be interested in what I had to say. Their creativity really helped them ease through the process of henna tattooing. They were even better than I am! I supplied them with some henna I had prepared a few days before and they created some really beautiful designs! I am glad that I was able to educate such a nice group of students. I hope they enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed theirs! I also am very thankful to Ms. Miller for allowing me to use her classroom and time! I have been invited to accompany the students at the yearbook carnival on Thursday and I am really looking forward to tattooing some of my fellow students!