I'm sitting at my desk...in my room...at home. It's strange. Not just for the fact that my parents did a stellar remodel job to make it look 22 instead of 16, but also that I am in my room...at home. Considering I've been a nomad for the last two and a half months, having a fluffy bed and my computer back are all wonderful and hilariously foreign. This summer was a beautiful journey of limited communication and minimal living; now I'm tasked with the job of cleaning out my closet of unwanted, or more like unneeded, clothes, getting ready for AmeriCorps to start on Tuesday, and plain and simply getting back into a real world routine.
Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked to be starting the next adventure with Habitat. I get to do something I enjoy and really care about every day and so in that, there is something to look forward to. It'll also be hard to wear underwear (with biking shorts you don't), to not have three pockets on my back that I can shove anything in to, to not eat everything I want because I won't be biking 80 miles a day, but mostly it'll be hard to not be surrounded by 32 hilariously witty people 24/7.
The closest thing Bike and Build is akin to is studying abroad, for me anyway, where you get to know people really quickly because the circumstances require it. Yet even so, this was unlike anything I've ever done. My teammates got to know me in ways that even my closest friends haven't experienced, and trust me, we've been through a lot. ME2SB14 lived, ate, biked, and built together all summer and the hard hitting questions were asked very early into the trip (like road trip quick, aka before we even got to Maine) and they saw parts of me that I would have normally never shown anyone, and it was okay because I trusted them and knew they wouldn't judge me at the end of the day, even if I did get gut-busting laughs for it. Plus, we were all going through similar situations down there, if you know what I mean, so it was a relatable issue for all of us.
I am lucky. To have this adventure. To meet the people I met along the way: strangers, hosts, old friends, new friends. To have been a part of a team that cared so deeply about one another. To do something I loved while helping people. To learn about a cause that is in dire need of attention and support. To experience a problem I don't have to deal with every day because of where I was born and the opportunities I've had. To know that even though I set out to help change the lives of others, the life I know that changed the most was my own.
So yeah, I'm a little sad. And that's okay. Because I know too that this family I made over the summer, it won't be the last time I see them. And while the difficulties of acclimating back into daily life in Kansas City will be brutal, I know I will slowly get back into the swing of things and life will go on. That doesn't mean I won't talk about Bike and Build all the time or wish I could be on my bike, but I'm going to try to emulate things the trip taught me, like taking risks and slowing down to actually experience things and taking the time to hear people's stories.
To my team, you were the best companions a girl could ask for (in Katie Lee vernacular, you're straight fire) and I'm glad you're all as crazy as I am. I love you and I miss you and I'm going to visit. To those on the outside who supported me with care packages and words of encouragement, thank you. It got me through the tough days and reminded me of why I was doing the trip in the first place. And to Bike and Build, this opportunity is like no other and words are inadequate to describe how it helped to open my perspective and see our country in a new light.
We live in a beautiful place people, so let's appreciate her for all she's worth. And with the parts that are not so good, let's join together to make her whole again. Because only we have the power to do so.
Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked to be starting the next adventure with Habitat. I get to do something I enjoy and really care about every day and so in that, there is something to look forward to. It'll also be hard to wear underwear (with biking shorts you don't), to not have three pockets on my back that I can shove anything in to, to not eat everything I want because I won't be biking 80 miles a day, but mostly it'll be hard to not be surrounded by 32 hilariously witty people 24/7.
The closest thing Bike and Build is akin to is studying abroad, for me anyway, where you get to know people really quickly because the circumstances require it. Yet even so, this was unlike anything I've ever done. My teammates got to know me in ways that even my closest friends haven't experienced, and trust me, we've been through a lot. ME2SB14 lived, ate, biked, and built together all summer and the hard hitting questions were asked very early into the trip (like road trip quick, aka before we even got to Maine) and they saw parts of me that I would have normally never shown anyone, and it was okay because I trusted them and knew they wouldn't judge me at the end of the day, even if I did get gut-busting laughs for it. Plus, we were all going through similar situations down there, if you know what I mean, so it was a relatable issue for all of us.
I am lucky. To have this adventure. To meet the people I met along the way: strangers, hosts, old friends, new friends. To have been a part of a team that cared so deeply about one another. To do something I loved while helping people. To learn about a cause that is in dire need of attention and support. To experience a problem I don't have to deal with every day because of where I was born and the opportunities I've had. To know that even though I set out to help change the lives of others, the life I know that changed the most was my own.
So yeah, I'm a little sad. And that's okay. Because I know too that this family I made over the summer, it won't be the last time I see them. And while the difficulties of acclimating back into daily life in Kansas City will be brutal, I know I will slowly get back into the swing of things and life will go on. That doesn't mean I won't talk about Bike and Build all the time or wish I could be on my bike, but I'm going to try to emulate things the trip taught me, like taking risks and slowing down to actually experience things and taking the time to hear people's stories.
To my team, you were the best companions a girl could ask for (in Katie Lee vernacular, you're straight fire) and I'm glad you're all as crazy as I am. I love you and I miss you and I'm going to visit. To those on the outside who supported me with care packages and words of encouragement, thank you. It got me through the tough days and reminded me of why I was doing the trip in the first place. And to Bike and Build, this opportunity is like no other and words are inadequate to describe how it helped to open my perspective and see our country in a new light.
We live in a beautiful place people, so let's appreciate her for all she's worth. And with the parts that are not so good, let's join together to make her whole again. Because only we have the power to do so.
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