The Adventure Starts Here

It's been three and a half weeks since ME2SB14 rode onto the beach in Santa Barbara. The GroupMe keeps everyone together even though I am now thousands of miles apart from my B&B family.
I miss the wind blowing on my face and the feeling of flying as I crouch over Ruby (my bike), the hum of wheels on pavement in my ears as I descend a mountain. I miss the sound of Thermarests being deflated and other bodies groggily moving as we would get ready for a long day of riding. I miss Luscious' outbursts of Broadway tunes and Margaux's puns and KTLee's laugh.

It was hard adjusting back into life at home. I didn't really know what to do with myself most of the time because a lot of my friends don't live here so it was strange going from being around 32 people to being by myself (and I like being by myself; I craved alone time on the trip haha). I'm not saying it isn't hard anymore, but it has gotten easier since starting my AmeriCorps term with Habitat for Humanity Kansas City. It has given me a routine, trips to look forward to (the National Service Leadership Conference in Talladega, AL and Build-A-Thon in New Orleans, LA), new people to work with (I'm the youngest one in the office), and new people to meet every day because it's what I do as a Volunteer Coordinator.

AmeriCorps is kind of a big deal and I didn't realize it until we celebrated its 20th birthday on September 12th when I was sworn in with the rest of the new members. I am part of a new family now, one that is over 900,000 strong, one that is willing to commit a year of their life to serving their country. I never looked at it like that. I was just so excited to have something to do after Bike and Build, especially in the realm of affordable housing, that I didn't really take the time to consider what I signed on for outside of the stuff I had to know.

With time to soak it all up, I'm lucky to be where I am. To work alongside this affiliate as we work to alleviate the AH problem in midtown Kansas City. To be surrounded by my co-workers who love what they do and care more about the neighborhood impact than the money they make. To interact with volunteers who willingly take the time out of their week to come and spend time building someone's home. To see good things happening in my hometown and to see the pride we take in the place we live.

I saw this written: "You will never be completely home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."  I felt this when I got home from studying abroad and I feel it now after Bike and Build. While these experiences are over and I'm left with memories and lifetime friendships, I'm on to another great adventure that, while it might not seem as crazy as the others I've had, will be just, if not more, rewarding. In the cheesiest way possible, I'm #blessed.  

A Whole New World

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. 

Yep, This is Real Life

In the last five days I've gone from Kansas City to Chicago to Pittsburgh to Philly to Brooklyn to Boston to Littleton, MA and now I'm en route my final stop: Portland, ME for orientation. Yeah, I feel the same way you do after reading that. It's finally here! Days spent in the car, hours of great music, nine new friends (until tomorrow), a food truck festival, one of the oldest hostels in the Northeast, and half the country covered by car with a few bike rides thrown inbetween.

I can already tell that this is going to be a summer for the books. It already has been and we haven't even officially started Bike and Build yet. With orientation less than 24 hours away, I am super excited about what is to come over the next ten weeks. The little family we've already formed is going to become 33 strong, so watch out America because we are taking you by storm! (Literally beause we bike in the rain.) 

I'm the furthest east I can get and starting Friday I'll be making my way through the time zones. Keep looking out because it's only going to get crazier. 

My new awesome friend Emily! 

Riding into New York City. Clouds- they're cool. 

That's five bikes on that rack. Poster children for Giant as we made our way across the country. 

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

Or in a car named Micky so I can ride my bike named Ruby across the country (I like naming things okay?!). The day has finally come people! I am finally embarking on my Bike and Build trip. I leave tomorrow for Chicago with my good friend Sheeby where I'll head with a few of my teammates to Portland, Maine; from there, the big journey commences as I head west toward Santa Barbara.

I've waited six months for this day to come and now that it has I'm a little anxious, I'm not gonna lie. But who wouldn't be? Am I stoked to meet my B&B family? Hell yes! Am I excited to see the country by bike? You bet I am! Can I wait to help build houses? I can hardly stand it! 

I spent a really awesome day relishing in my hometown, Kansas City, MO. Happy Gillis, Christopher Elbow chocolate, BBQ. Honestly, what day could be better? It'll be hard to leave this behind for 10 weeks, but I know that this is exactly how I should be spending my summer. So as I say my see-you-laters and wave out the back window, I know I'm headed for a grand unknown. And that is awesome. Because as some wise Pixar creator once said in a little movie called UP, "Adventure is out there!" And I fully intend to live that out. 

This is my one duffel and hydration pack for the entire summer. That's right, this girl is going minimalist.