Over the winter break of my senior year in college, I had the opportunity to participate in a Habitat for Humanity trip in Darlington, South Carolina. Volunteering for the organization was something that I had been wanting to do since my senior year of high school, and after years of doing other things for winter break, I made it my mission to go on the school-organized trip in my last year of school, since the plans to go on the trip fell through the year before due to internship commitments.
I came into the orientation with one thought in my mind: only talk to the two people that I knew and just stay in my lane. I was not prepared to make new friends (I was leaving school in May – why should I try to make friends with people that I probably wouldn’t speak to the week I came back?) and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would fit in, because I tend to march to the beat of my own drum and do my own thing.
When I first left for the trip, I was terrified. By the end of the week, my life was changed. I tackled my fear of heights by climbing onto a roof in need of repair (let’s just say that everyone made fun of me for it later on). I had to shower at the local YMCA, which wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be! I ended up going against my initial thought of not making any friends and I ended up meeting people that I still keep in touch with six months later. One of those people ended up becoming someone that I consider my best friend (maybe I’ll talk about him later just to make him happy :P).
Note to self: don’t place false expectations on anything. Most of the time, those expectations fly out the window – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
As we left for home, I realized how lucky I was that I went on a trip just like this. If you have the chance to go on a Habitat for Humanity mission, I recommend you do. It will change your life, just as it changed mine. It was one of the highlights of my senior year and it’s a trip I won’t be forgetting for a long time.
— Adrianna ❤
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