Nonstop Week

A Wild Week -

I miss my free time. It seems like in AmeriCorps there isn't much of it. Our days are packed. We work all day. When we get home we either have to do physical training or our weekly progress report. I'm always either helping with dinner or helping clean up. By the time I eat and shower and call my girlfriend the day is over and before I have time to breathe I'm doing it again. This week was no exception. We pulled the walls of the house together. We're jacking up the ceiling to replace some of the termite damaged wood. We're building closets and new walls. In addition to working on building the house I went to two recruiting events, a debrief with our sponsor and a 3 hour focus group. Even our weekends are full of independent service projects.

Not that I'm done complaining, I believe that wisdom comes from experience. I don't think there is any better way than AmeriCorps NCCC to accumulate new experiences. In the past two months I've lived in at least 3 places. I've had at least 3 different jobs. I've learned a ton about construction by building homes. I leaned about the environment by building trails. I've learned how to talk to kids by working at a children's museum. Even helping cook dinner has been educational. I can make make a meal for 11! I'm also growing in more abstruse ways. I've gained leadership experience, communication skills and a new appreciation for how much of a difference a person can make. The lack of free time is an easy price to pay for such a life changing experience.

~Sam