Reflecting

After a week of classes now, I've had some time to reflect upon my experience in New Orleans. When the trip first started, I was a bit skeptical. After a 25 hour car ride and sharing one bathroom with 14 girls, I wasn't exactly in the highest of spirits. However, as the week progressed, all of those trivial things that we all complained about became insignificant and unimportant and I was able to understand what it really means to be a Bonner Scholar. After the first few days I thought to myself, "I could never chaperone this trip". However, as the week came to an end, my outlook had completely changed and now, I can't wait for the next opportunity to go back- I would go back in a heartbeat. From sitting on the levee to touring the city to meeting our home owner and working on his house, there were so many moments from this trip that not only made me more appreciative of life but also gave me a deeper meaning of service. For me, this trip was eye opening in that it makes me want to strive to do better within the Trenton community and do whatever I can, to the best of my ability, to make a  difference and leave my mark. I not only fell in love with the work that I did but I also fell in love with the city. It was just such a different atmosphere and learning about the city's culture was an amazing experience. Not only that, but getting to have all of the fun that I did with my closest friends made the whole trip even better. The beignets helped of couse too. Now that we are all back on campus and back in the hustle and bustle of things, I am more than excited to continue my service and to apply all that I learned in NOLA into the work that I do in the Trenton area.

My Wall

As weird as it sounds, one of the best memories of New Orleans was coming back to my work site one day and going back to a wall I had floated the day before. It was so smooth! All worry that I was holding on to at the beginning of the trip evaporated. For some reason I was so proud of that wall that I just stood there and rubbed it for a few seconds. It was a good feeling to see my hard work become actualized.

Meeting the Home Owners

When I first learned of our homeowner, it was on a scrap of paper. We received a full biography of Chiquita and her son Chase minutes before we arrived at our work site. The first two days were basic service: skimming, sanding, skimming again. But after the second day, the Chiquita and her son stopped by to see their nearly finished house. The work became real at that moment. I realized that the mindless work I had quietly complaining about in the back of my mind was stupid. I realized that because of the work I was doing, that boy would have a room all to himself right down the hall from his mother. I liked that feeling.

Heading to New Orleans

Before heading down to New Orleans, the one continuous idea that kept cycling through my head was the hope that I would not mess up. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to go do some top notch community service, but I ws hoping it was worthwhile. I did not want to do an adequate job on our site, I wanted to do an exceptional job. I wanted to look at the progress I had made throughout the week and be proud of how far my site had come, and to know how excited our home owners would be when they moved in. So I guess I was caught in a type of nervous excitement, tension coiled inside of my stomach ready to unravel after our 24 hour drive. I was ready to begin

Heading to New Orleans

Before heading down to New Orleans, the one continuous idea that kept cycling through my head was the hope that I would not mess up. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to go do some top notch community service, but I ws hoping it was worthwhile. I did not want to do an adequate job on our site, I wanted to do an exceptional job. I wanted to look at the progress I had made throughout the week and be proud of how far my site had come, and to know how excited our home owners would be when they moved in. So I guess I was caught in a type of nervous excitement, tension coiled inside of my stomach ready to unravel after our 24 hour drive. I was ready to begin

This is the end

As this trip comes to an end and we all enjoy this wonderful ride home, I have some time to reflect on the past few days in NOLA. First off, the last day of work was quite a bittersweet moment. It was sad to say goodbye to all the work we had put into the house over the 5 days of work. But as much as I would have loved to help finish and see the completion of Mr. William's home, I'm ready to take all that I've learned about service back to TCNJ and integrate it in my own Bonner site and work. Second, being able to see the city during the day was a completely different experience than just at night. As much as I loved the tours we did each day around different parts of the city, actually being able to walk around it on a beautiful day and experience more of the culture and food in a different setting was a great way to end the trip. I can't get enough of the beignets from Cafe du Monde- so good! As I sit here watching the sun rise in North Carolina, I'm thinking about what a great experience this really was and if I could, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Wendsday January 15th- Thursday January 16th, 2014

Work on the house has gone well. Old pictures were found inside of the chimney of the house, they were in perfect condition even after the flood and fire the previously distorted the house. The chimney's are over 100 years old. Mr. Williams was really happy to  see them. 

I'm glad to have the opertunity to serve in  New Orleans. It is obvious that it means something to the people that we're here helping to restore the community. It's warming to know that we're doing a service people appreciate.