Tag: positivity

Well, long time no chat. This past week I was on a spring break trip with Habitat for Humanity, and so I had no computer access (which was honestly a blessing). I figured today I’d do a little recap of my trip before launching into my Weekly Gratitude for the week (be warned, it’ll probably be lengthy). And we’ll be back to your regularly scheduled food posts this week 🙂

First, some background on Habitat for Humanity: Habitat is a non-profit organization that advocates for affordable housing. With the help of volunteers, contractors, and sponsors, they build houses for low-income families. However, it’s not a handout. Families have to fill out a lengthy application and put in over 200 hours of sweat equity before they even pick a house. And then they put in even more sweat equity on their own house! At the end of the process, they get a home with a no interest mortgage. My favorite part about Habitat for Humanity is interacting with the future homeowners; we get to hear their stories and it puts the whole project into perspective. We aren’t just building a house, we’re building a home. A home where a family will spend Christmas morning, where kids will lose their first tooth, have birthday parties, and feel safe and comfortable in their own beds. It’s an amazing organization that I love so much.

So the trip: Our campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity participates in the Collegiate Challenge every year, where college kids spend their spring break volunteering with a Habitat affiliate far from home. It was 9 days, the first 2 and last 2 driving, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We had a free day in Miami on Monday, and then 4 days of working on the construction site to build houses.

I will admit, I was extremely anxious at the start of the trip. I had been on some workdays but I wasn’t super close with anyone going on the trip and I was really afraid of not having people to talk to, sit with, and hang out with. Plus I get motion sick in cars.

But, armed with Dramamine and the mantra that it would all be okay and I didn’t need to be nervous, I survived the first 2 days of driving. And I am so SO happy I decided to go on the trip. I haven’t laughed so hard and so much in SO long. I made new friends, became closer with people I already knew, ate so many ham sandwiches, had kitchen dance parties, played board games, swam, napped, shingled an entire roof, consumed so much ice cream, played medic by doling out ibuprofen to everyone with terrible sunburn, and met so many wonderful people.

I’m so glad I pushed through the anxiety and decided to sign up for this trip in November, and I already can’t wait for next years. Because there is nothing more empowering than a week of hammering on a roof with some of your new favorite people and making a difference in someone’s life.

And now that I’ve rambled about my trip, here’s my (long) list of things I’m grateful for this week. I’d love to hear what you’re thankful for this week and what you did/are doing for spring break!

This week I’m grateful for:

• Not getting car sick
• New friends
• Hysterical laughter
• The Cheese Boys Construction Co (who are from Wisconsin and taught us how to shingle)
• Learning how to shingle a roof
• Shingling said roof in Collegiate Challenge record time
• Late night ice cream runs
• Circle time to list off highs and lows of the day
• Dinners as a group
• Board games
• Staying in cabins with beach access
• Getting to swim in the ocean
• Avoiding sunburn
• Getting to wear shorts (it’s still pretty chilly in Pittsburgh)
• Having time to read books
• Salty hair
• Not stressing about schoolwork
• Being outside surrounded by nature
• The soreness of having worked hard
• Ham sandwiches
• Naps
• Especially car naps
• Jamming to new playlists
• Getting to watch the sunrise every morning over the work site
• The cook out we had the second to last night with the future homeowners and all the people that work for Habitat