C'est La Vie- Matt

Today was one of the best days of my life, not only because of the volunteer work I did today, but also because of the fact that I was able to spend a good amount of time this evening with my friends and basically, my family.  I went to the Stokes's house today and spent a great amount of time siding with one of the United Saints leaders, Twiggy.  Twiggy and I had a few, or really a lot of good quality conversations about the most random things.  At one point during lunch time on the broken and battered front steps at the Stokes's house, we engaged in a heated conversation about baseball, how long would it take for Manny Ramirez to retire after his suspension is up.  We almost began a pot betting when he would retire.  But one thing about Twiggy that struck me and that revealed itself to me was that no matter what we were talking about, one could sense a passion in his voice as he talked.  His passion that motivates him to clean up and rebuild the city where he has lived for most of his lifetime, New Orleans.  And I think I can say this on behalf of the whole NOLA Service Learning group and myself, that this passion inside of Twiggy is what fuels our fires inside of us to continue to devote countless amounts of hours to this group, to New Orleans and to each other.  New Orleans has given me so many opportunities I would have never been able to do back home.  Like siding a house using a Saw Z-All (big saw that can cut through nearly anything, even nails) and a air compressed nail gun that would be able to take any one's finger right off.  New Orleans has also given me a chance to connect with people I usually would never have hung out with if it weren't for NOLA.  Like today, Maria, Elisabeth and I explored the French Quarter of New Orleans and had a great time doing it.  Walking up and down Bourbon Street, watching and listening to various street performers do their thing (even one man sang to Maria, Elisabeth and I while on the dock, his original song was titled "C'est La Vie" or "The Good Life") and also touching the Mississippi River and sitting down by the river watching a boat scoot by while a party went on in the boat.  New Orleans has a lot to offer a person, and we, as a whole group, can offer an equal amount back to the city.  Our passion for rebuilding what I and many others refer to as our "home", is indescribable.  Being down here, in a different atmosphere, a little more friendly, and helping New Orleans recover from Katrina so many years ago, is truly "C'est La Vie".