learn how to use my hands not just my head.

over a month later! sorry guys.

ok. so our first round project is at this water "park"... its a camp site. not a park. very misleading here in the south. anyway. we've been working at Little Black Creek Water Park for the past 4 weeks. And honestly, that is why I have not been updating. I was a little disappointed with our project selection. Other teams were off to the coast, working with Habitat, building houses and changing lives... and here we are.. working on aesthetics for those who are fortunate enough to go on vacation here. Basically we've been either painting all day everyday or working our butts off in the hot sun clearing away brush from a dam or ripping roots out of the ground on a horse-trail. I worked hard. I pushed myself. I did things I had no idea I was capable of; such as not only having the courage to hold a machete, but actually use it to take out some intense thorn covered vines. However I still felt like what we were doing was kind of a waste of time. And it made my days difficult. It made my real desire to be here dwindle. Our team morale was low. We actually even had a team member return home. Our living conditions have been interesting, too. We are staying in a lodge hall that is about the size of a large classroom. We each have our own cot that is barely big enough for one person. We have about 3 feet of personal space before running into our neighbors cot. We cook there. We hang out there. There is one bathroom for 11 people. No Mirror. The shower is about a half of a mile walk. The closest town (internet access.. food...civilization) is at least a 10 minute drive. Its been rough.
Then, the other day as I was walking to our tool shed to continue painting signs for our horse-trail, I saw an adorable family picnicking on the dam that we had cleared brush from. They had an amazing view of the lake and they looked really, really, happy.
In that moment I felt pride.
I hope that the image of that family sharing a meal on land that was once covered with gross vines covered in thorns stays with me not only for the rest of this project, but for the rest of my life. Its easy to lose sight of what is really important. I forgot to enjoy the life that I am living right now. I don't have to sit at a desk all day. Or do homework. I get to be outside. Using my muscles and strengthening my body. How awesome!
I'm going from dreadfully saying that I live in the woods to excitedly saying I live in the woods!!!! I walk out of the lodge and see hundreds of trees. Since I have to be up at 6am everyday I GET to see the sunrise over the lake every single day!
Some days are a lot harder than others. And some days are the most amazing days of my life. Its a struggle. But its worth it. I hope you can look around and find things in your life that you are proud of. That you are excited about. And if you can't.. when you wake up in the morning and get out of your comfy bed.. think about how I sleep on a hard cot every night and say good morning to the 11 other people, thousands of ants, spiders, cockroaches and crickets that are my roommates and maybe you will feel better.

Lots of love.