I can't even believe this is where I am...I am in Vicksburg for one last time. We left New York on Monday morning to trek back for a nice 26 hour, 3 day drive. Before I get to the emotional mushy gushy stuff, there is still some New York to talk about!
One of the best parts of the last 2 weeks had to be the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. A few teammates and myself went to see the big 80 foot tree be lit while listening to the live music from Rod Stewart, Cee Lo Green, and Mariah Carey. I have always watched this on TV and it was awesome to be there for once.
I went home for Thanksgiving and my 5 year reunion for a nice 4 day vacation from the disaster life. It was the most perfect 4 days. I slept, saw old classmates, family, and enjoyed not being in New York. When I got back, our team got switched to bulk distribution. We now were helping stock up box trucks and Emergency Response Vehicles to provide hot meals to the Rockaways that are STILL without power. These past two weeks were great. I worked along side the site manager who was in charge of the food. I pretty much was his little slave, but he will forever be someone I use as a reference for jobs. He told me that I was one of the hardest workers he has ever worked with and on my last day got a standing ovation at the staff meeting that we had daily. I loved the little projects that he had me doing. This little time with him gave me new insight to the Red Cross. We ended work on Sunday by out processing from the ARC. Sam and I used Sunday to walk around the city and see things we hadn't seen yet. We went to FAO Schwartz, Grand Central Station, and Central Park. It was kind of the best day ever. Our team went to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to take a nice team picture and then Chris Sam and I went to dinner at a French Steak House. Holy damn, it was amazing.
On Monday morning, our team piled into Scooter the 15p one last time to start the trip back to Vicksburg. We made two stops in Richmond Virginia and Atlanta Georgia. This ride back was one of the best rides yet. We all knew that it was our last one, so naturally I made sure everyone knew every 5 minutes how sad I was. We sang, danced, and fought like we usually did. It was awesome to get back to campus and see everyone. I missed my best friends a lot this round and I am so happy that we are back together! We got to choose our roommates this time, which was great. Rachel, Margaret, Julia and I have the greatest little room ever. We have been enjoying our time since we got back on Wednesday. Not too many tears yet.
This week is our last week in AmeriCorps. I can hardly wrap my head around this. I have made some of the best friends ever in this program. I don't really know what I am going to do not surrounded by my team and friends daily anymore. Wednesday and Thursday are our final days in AmeriCorps. Wednesday we have our banquet and Thursday we have graduation. I have been chosen to be the emcee of graduation Thursday so I have some speech writing to do in the next few days. Pretty excited about that. I don't really know what to think at this point about graduation. I am nervous for life after AmeriCorps knowing I don't have a job, besides assistant coaching the high school girl's hockey team! I am so excited for that. But, all in all, I am really sad about this program coming to an end. I have always said how it has changed my life, and it sure has changed my life. The experiences have forever changed my life, but more importantly, the people I have met really have left a large imprint on my heart. This week, I will go on with a heavy heart because of how sad it is that I am leaving, but completing over 2,000 hours of community service and earning a presidential award for community service make it all worth while. I am excited to be the emcee of graduation or as Julia likes to call it the valedictorian of AmeriCorps. I am just glad part of my speech I wrote gets to be heard by everyone!
I will write more during the week, but this is where I am at now. Thanks for reading!
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