I'm sadly writing this post back at home, wishing I was back in New Orleans. I woke up in my own bed and I laughed a little since all I wanted was to be back at United Saints, waking up on the top bunk of the bunk bed I shared with my bunk mate. I hated that top bunk the whole time I stayed there, and now all I wished was to be back there.
I have a feeling I'm not the only person from NOLA who is feeling this way, but it's such a weird sensation. I feel like my mind, my heart, and my soul are still sitting on the wooden steps of Ms. Williams house, eating my lunch of peanut butter and jelly. Or the back yard at United Saints where we played so many games of basketball, and held our reflections by the fire each night. But that now i'm stuck back at home, procrastinating on the homework I didn't glance at yet this week thinking about how tomorrow it's back to the daily grind of high school.
This was my first year on the trip and I have to say it changed my life. Never before have I put so much of myself into a program, and then come out with more than I could of ever imagined. Not in souveniers, or anything materialistic you can show to someone to describe the trip but in stories, and knowing and remembering how what we did down in New Orleans touched so many peoples lives in some way. The untold lessons and wisdom you learned just from experiencing and being in the city of New Orleans. Seeing even if it was only one day we could spend on a work site, the amount of effort, and passion everyone was putting into the work was amazing. I don't think anyone ever gave less than 110%. No one ever complained about anything instead people just kept asking what can we do now? What's next? Again, never before have I met so many selfless people, who enjoyed what they were doing, and all just understood you do what needs to be done, and more. I'm so honored, and so happy I was able to spend this past week with the most amazing group of people I have ever met.
It's hard to be able to put into words and explain how the trip has changed me. I know that I see everything I do at home differently. How being down there really has put into a better perspective of how lucky I am to have the life I do. But also to be able to see just the different life style it is down there, by the different views on simple things. For example people we say in New Orleans were on "Southern Time" where they did things at their own pace, didn't worry about where they had to be next and just kinda went with the flow. Then here comes us, a huge mob of people from up North who just keep going and going, constantly worrying what time it was and how we were going to make it places on time. From that you also just got the pure friendliness of everyone. One of the first days down in New Orleans I noticed everyone you saw, whether it was driving in the car or walking down the street stops, smiles and waves.
I guess what i've been trying to figure out how to say this whole post is that I'm still trying to unwind, and adjust to being back home. To understand everything that happened in New Orleans and understand how it has affected me. Though I do see some ways which it has already. I just really want to thank Mr. Kane, the chaperones, anyone and everyone who makes this program work, and go down every single year without fail. I can't express how much this opportunity means to me, and I am so excited and ready to begin planning for next years New Orleans trip already.
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