My Flashlight

New Orleans (catch up)
I view volunteering in a metaphorical way; it’s as if a person is chipping away a piece of his heart and squeezing out all the compassion, time, and love possible from it. It is important however to chip away the part of your heart that is reasoned but not hardened.

When the group went to do our first service project we had to drive through areas of New Orleans that I would have completely avoided otherwise. But why? The first answer is because of fright, which is a reasonable answer and would be accepted by many. I am not one of the many however so it does not cut it for me. The other reason is selfishness. I want to be charitable as most people do, but I am spoiled too. Going into the St. Bernard Parish was very different from the realm of America that I have resided in, and because of that I had a hard time communicating. I hate that. These are my fellow people I yearn to do more than being awkward. Then though I think but wait, this is what these people need. A connection. The connection that existed for me was by no means at all founded on a sturdy foundation. In fact I believe I would go so far as to say it is the beginning of the foundation. That right there is an important lesson in itself though.

American’s have freedoms. We have found thus far that these are what many people consider to be “American”. I wonder though, is that really enough? Another prominent theme is hope. Hope is a powerful thing. However, I have a thought about that as well. While hope may be a light for the American people it is only a light burning in the middle of a sunny day. It has potential to come in handy during times of darkness but even then it is only one little light. The people who work at, depend on, and volunteer at the St. Bernard Parish Community Center showed me that hope can find much more potency if it is shared, and not just temporarily. Years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the small and what many would consider insignificant lifes that these people once lead they continue to struggle more in a day than I do in a week, a month, or longer. Out of tragedy can come something great. These people have lead tragic lifes I feel. They struggle but they also survive. I can think of nothing more admirable.