Before moving on to the next phase of my life (epic adventures!), I think it'd be good to create some sort of bloggy closure to my NCCC experience. Perhaps someday I'll post more of my adventures in that particular year of my life, but quite possibly not. All in all, I learned a ton and had some amazing experiences. I'll end the year with some simple highlights and challenges (a brief reflection exercise of the SLI variety, we could call it).
High: My house. 1103 was, from day one, family. We still stay in touch and those strong, beautiful NTrips were a defining part of my year, keeping me sane with their 5 AM yoga and morning coffee chats.
Challenge: The team. I get along with pretty much everybody, but I quickly found that they don't always get along with each other. I relearned how crucial honesty is and enjoyed our third-round commune with nature. The fourth-round commune with horror movies was less enjoyable.
High: Tennessee. I may spend years of my life forgetting Nashville, but the homeowners were amazing, my team was incredibly hard-working in spite of all the obstacles thrown our way, and the church families were some of the most caring and compassionate I've ever met. In the end, we did good things.
Challenge: New Orleans. I had been excited to go, but that lasted about 24 hours once we reached the city itself. A highlight of my time there was a note-passing conversation with Melissa during a forum on the city's rebuilding in which we discussed how much better-prepared the Netherlands are for flooding than is New Orleans. That would be step one for me; the ability to withstand a 70-year flood is simply not enough in that region. Even 100 years? We can do better.
High: The Point. It very much became home. I loved it.
Challenge: Acknowledging the green-gray divide. Color-coding uniforms to create status divides is a very tricky matter that was never once openly discussed during any training or other formal event.
High: Being an STL. I learned that my love of paperwork, organization, and meetings is actually applicable to real-world jobs. I even figured out what some of those jobs might be. Also, notes were passed via a certain potted plant in the forum. Good times.
Challenge: People leaving the program. Given the physical and emotional toll this single year takes on an individual, it's no wonder that about 10% of the class never makes it to graduation. It's sad, though, to see teammates and fellow program members leave to go off and regain their personal glow elsewhere. I like that our generation is able to keep in touch easily in spite of their departure from the immediate proximity.
High: Speaking at graduation. This competes vigorously for the title of 'Highlight of the Year'. I loved the message of my speech and was thrilled to be able to share it with the Corps, our campus staff, and visiting families. I loved pacing around by the river at all hours of the day, addressing an imaginary audience in the rain, and successfully recalling every word on the day of graduation as a result. I'm happy that other people seemed to like it too, including the father who noted that he saw me turning pages even though I didn't glance down at my paper once. (I did keep on the correct page just in case.) This was a great end to an amazing term of service. I truly believe our generation has the power to achieve all that I set out in that speech.
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