...and drank almost two whole bottles of wine.
It's becoming sort of a tradition to drink too much when I come back from a service trip. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. This isn't really the point of my post.
My SBST this year was very different than previous trips for me. (I've been on 2 others.) I think it had to do with me being a coordinator instead of a "participant." Though, I'd like to think I was just a participant who knew all the details for everything. The main difference of being a coordinator was seeing the same things in my paticipants as myself. Seeing them realize what their talents and love could do for the world was amazing. And it was pretty fun to have to be sarcastic and sassy to let my voice be heard over the 6 most sarcastic and sassy SBST participants ever. I don't think I've ever verbally attacked a group of people so much during one week of my life (especially a week committed to serving), but I meant well. This post is about to go crazy.
My first trip to Denver, CO, one year ago, put the idea of post-graduate volunteering in my mind. It stayed.
My second trip to El Paso, TX, in October, pushed me to do more--and nearly pushed me out of school. I was feeling restless, useless, and like I was wasting time being in school. There was so much more for me to be doing outside of these walls. My friends kept me here, though. I knew I needed to do something, though, so I committed myself to post-graduate volunteering. It strengthened.
: :
I am pre-physical therapy and always have been--at least that's what it feels like. But many experiences in the last few months have redirected me slightly. Children in poverty is one those things that should never be reality. But it totally and completely is. I don't know where, and I don't know for whom, but I am going to change someone's life. I may go into physical therapy still. I may go to grad school for nutrition. I may do neither and work for a non-profit my whole life. Who knows. Not me. But I am going to do something. It solidified.
: :
My third trip to Montgomery, AL, beginning one week ago, made me believe I can do something.
"We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, and opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own." -Bishop Ken Untener for Archbishop Oscar Romero
"There aren't two categories of people. There aren't some that were born to have everything, leaving the rest with nothing, and a majority that has nothing and cannot taste the happiness that God has created for all. The Christian society that God wants is one in which we share the goodness that God has given for everyone." -Archbishop Oscar Romero
"Love has a transforming power. It is first and foremost a revelation of a person's essential, fundamental beauty and value. If nobody reveals to children their innate beauty and value, they will never know the importance and the meaning of their life." -Jean Vanier (Founder of the L'Arche Community)
I can't sit here and type up all the things amazing people have said all day, but I can promise you that I will do my best to live for others. Montgomery helped me to realize minds can be reformed and people can love unconditionally. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. followed the teachings of Gandhi. They knew the importance of communication and non-violence in showing the world that all people deserve their innate human rights. We must follow their example.
Service trips are a pretty big deal in my life. They've shaped me and guided me in forming others. I can confidently say I look forward to the next one. They have stolen my heart. I'm getting ready for yet another week of school, keeping in mind that I'm at this university for a reason. I continue to push through the hard days and the long nights knowing that after I graduate, I can begin my year-long service trip that I call post-grad volunteering. I can't wait.
I have plenty more to say on this topic, and I am very willing to develop it even further. Bring it up with me someday.
Sincerely,
Steph
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." -Gandhi
No comments:
Post a Comment