AmeriWhimsy

On this day last year I packed a backpack and a suitcase and flew out to California.  It was honestly the most terrifying experience of my life.  Life up until that point had been about going to school and making coffee for a paycheck.  To say that I had that life under control was an understatement.  If anything I was bored with it.  I guess that’s what led up to that terrifying experience part of things.  When I first thought about making the big leap it was the thought of leaving my nice apartment and car that concerned me.  It wasn’t until I was leaving my loved ones in the airport that the little seed of terror truly began to sprout.

Everything else from that point on is located in the ‘good memory’ file of my brain’s rolodex.  But NCCC was more than a series of good memories for me.  Without venturing close to hyperbole I can say that it was the most definitive experience of my life.  I learned more in those ten months of service that I did in four years of college.  I entered into NCCC as a bumbling adult wannabe with little sense of direction as to where he wanted to go in life.  And I left as a bumbling adult wannabe with little sense of direction as to where he wanted to go in life.  That adult however had something the other didn’t.  He had a sense of fulfillment, an appreciation for life, and a hunger for service that exceeded his own expectations.

AmeriCorps hasn’t been about changing who I am.  It has been about being a better me through the vehicle helping others.  And for this opportunity I will be thankful for the entirety of my life.