Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Like a grain of salt

Today I was at Milton Mary gutting the house for the second time and it was nothing like the first time I was there for on Monday. Today's work was very small and tedious to start the day off with. The group started with putting all of the finishing touched on the bottom floor especially, making all the edges clean and removing all of the dry wall and denailing all of the support beams that are left intact. This was a totally different experience then that of Monday where we were putting sledge hammers into untouched walls and hammers into every small crack and crevice trying to remove large amounts of debris. Doing this type of work today made me realize that everything is not always as it seems, and that in fact every little thing matters.
Today was also the hardest day of my life, not only was the labor demanding on the body (carrying 60+ lb barrels of debris down spiral stairs), but also emotionally. The feeling of leaving and not being able to experience this again, being a first time senior, really started to set in. Also the thought of home and family members constantly wondering how you are doing and what it is like is truly hard. This is also my first time being so far away from home alone, without anyone else from my family but now because of that everyone down here is truly becoming family to me.
Today was also the day where I was not working the entire time. Today I was "forced" to sit on the side lines just after lunch break was over and watch as everyone else was working around me from the group. This was due to a minor accident that caused my hand to swell up pretty bad, only the annoyance and the task of reducing the swelling kept me from not working more. From me not being able to work for that time was hard on me especially because I love to work and I do not like to quit on anything that I do. However seeing how everyone worked  together today was truly special and something that I have never experienced before.
I have come to realize that this is the hardest that I am probably ever going to work in my life. After high school I am going to college to become a Doctor and thinking on this today made me realize that being a doctor is not going to be this hard. I will never leave an operating room or hospital and have my skin be darker than the black colored shirt that I am wearing.
The most satisfying part of this is that we are here making others days better and giving them hope for their future. Even better than that, the most satisfying work that I have done is the work that no one will ever directly thank you for. We are not doing this for the thank you's and the praise, rather because they are human just like we are and deserve and will have the same things that we do. As said in the reflection tonight, "Quality is dignity". Every day so far down here I have seen everyone giving 110% at all times and producing professional quality work, even though we are just a group of 43 high school students no older than 18.
I just wish that this journey did not have to end in just a few days as I have truly changed as a person for the better in these 10+ months being in the program and just the 5 days that we have been down in New Orleans doing this service.
A saying has always stuck with me since learning it in Latin class and this saying is "Carpe Diem!", which means "Seize the Day!". This whole NOLA experience has really made me realize that now, in this moment, I truly am making the most of every moment and every opportunity that I have while down here. I just can't wait to see what I can do to make a difference once this trip is over and I am back to my regular life in Massachusetts
~Mike Niemi

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