This reflection is by Holly Nickel, a junior from San Jose, Calif.
“We all need somebody to lean on.” A
single person needs a friend. Mississippi needs a nation. The work that we
did in Biloxi might seem small, but its work that needed to get done. It’s
funny, because not all of the work we did was pleasant or satisfying, but we
were still happy to do it. Even if the tasks were small, they were very big
in the eyes of those receiving the assistance. I’ve learned many things on
this trip that I believe have really helped me grow as a better person.
Among these lessons are that reminiscing about what happened can be the best
form of healing, that there are certain gifts in our life that are
irreplaceable, and that one can find friendship and unity among strangers.
Being able to talk about the horrible events that have taken place in one’s
life is an important step toward healing. One of the greatest gifts that we
were able to give to the people of
Biloxi
was a willing ear. The work, although ever appreciated, was not what most of
the people we came across really needed. The work that needs to be done is
work that’s on the inside. Being able to smile again and slowly work past
the fear that so many hold in their hearts. Just sitting with people and
hearing their story was more than enough in their eyes. Seeing volunteers
from all over the U.S. gave them a sense of hope and comfort. Through our
work they could see that they were cared for and that their stories would
not be forgotten.
After hearing many different stories, I started to grasp a very important
lesson for life. That the material things in our lives, however nice they
may be, are the first things you can let go of when mother nature hits as
hard as Katrina did. In the end it will not be my television, car, or even
my computer that will matter. The things that I will protect are the
memories and friendships I have with others. Hearing people talk, for
example, of losing wedding photos really brought a tear to my eye. I’ve
realized that true value is not something that can be bought, nor can it
ever be replaced. The thing that I’m bringing back with me from this trip is
to keep your friends and family warm in your heart and hold on to the
memories that you share with them.
I was nervous coming into this trip, because although I might have known
everyone’s names, we were not all friends; we didn’t know very much at all
about each other. I think that everyone on this trip came into it not
knowing how well we would all get along. I don’t think that anyone could
have imaged the bonding that took place on this trip. We all became very
comfortable with each other very quickly and we all cared and watched out
for one another from the start. I image that we have made friendships that
will last and that God brought us all together because we were meant to know
each other better than we did. Our work was hard, but we got through it and
in the end we became stronger people. The jobs that we did included raking,
picking up tree branches, clearing out old beds and moving cement blocks.
Our trip was not all work, however. Sitting on the dock at the Boy Scout
camp where I did most of my work will be a memory that will last forever.
