Wow. This week has flown by so quickly and I can't believe that we'll be flying home tomorrow morning (technically today). This week was strange in so many ways: it was a week to shatter the comfort zone I had created for so many years. It was a week to truly understand what service was. It was a week to truly learn the multiple personalities, gifts and talents every person in this group brings to the table. Finally, it was a week to make a difference, create a legacy, have moments of self-discovery and create community to not only the group, but also those we met along the way. The nightly meetings covered self perception, connections, life in general and impact. We as a group have created a deeper impact than I think many of us believed could be possible. Some of us learned so many new things throughout the week about ourselves and what it truly takes to build a house from the foundation up. These service projects are so important for so many reasons: however, they help to promote community. We created a community of role models and leaders within our own group, yet we also built relationships with the people we worked with on the site and the people we met throughout the week. We've built connections with people from different parts of the country and these projects remind us that there are people who would have done the same thing for us if anything ever happened, such as the tornadoes that wreaked havoc in Moore last year. Service can happen in so many different ways. We covered such a small aspect through the construction of the house and the repairs on Victoria and Efrain's house on the service spectrum. Service is giving one's time to help better the lives of others and not expect anything in return. It is about putting in time and effort to put a smile on the face of the worker next to you and the people who are affected, to create the feeling of community and unite the world one person at a time through various means. It doesn't require a grand gesture or money. It requires personality, a positive attitude and a willingness to achieve something greater than oneself. This trip opens one's eyes to the difference a single nail or board makes in creating a house into a home. The trip has opened my eyes to the natural beauty Oklahoma brings to the United States and how browns can create true beauty through simplistic nature. It is now time to bring what we've learned home to the community of Framingham and put it into actions and words in any way we can. I can't wait to see what this group can and will still accomplish after we land in Logan!
Daniel Larrivee
Class of 2017
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