I have never really been involved with school activities, believing that there was not a place in any institution that I fit into. After one of my teachers encouraged me time and time again to join the Habitat club in the school, I finally relented and began to volunteer my sophomore year. After my junior year had started, I decided to apply to go on the Mississippi trip, yet I did not expect that I would be chosen given the fact that others that had applied had been with Habitat longer. They nonetheless chose me as one of the twenty students to go. I admit that I was nervous at first, given the facts that I did not know anyone else that had been chosen nor had I much experience with actual builds. Even so, I opted to go against my usual reclusive and anxious manner and go anyway.
In the weeks leading up to the trip, the group met up every other Wednesday to learn more about the region which we would be visiting. With the help of the seniors that had gone on the trip the previous year, the chaperones taught us about how the Mississippi Delta became so notoriously poor, about the blues culture, and how Habitat was formed and how the chaperones themselves became involved in the Delta. I still was not sure of what to expect of this trip, yet I found myself becoming more and more excited for the experiences to come. We were told that between time at the build site, we would have the chance to explore the National Civil Rights Museum, the sites involved with the Emmett Till case, among other things. Everyone was, of course, anticipating this with great excitement. |