Final Thoughts

I can’t believe that just one week ago, I was packing up to say good-bye to New York City after one of the most fun and eye-opening weeks of my life. I had the best time serving in New York City on the 2011 Alternative Breaks trip and am excited to engage in more service at home in San Luis Obispo.

I think that what amazed me most about this trip was the altruistic spirits of each of the students in our group; their excitement to serve others and desire to make a difference were clearly apparent in their attitudes and actions. Our service ranged from preparing and serving meals at a soup kitchen to delivering meals to the home-bound elderly to packaging food for distribution at the Food Bank for New York City, but whatever our project was for the day, the enthusiasm of our group was contagious. It was amazing to see 12 students with such a great passion to serve.

In English, we use one word to describe all kinds of love. In Greek, however, different kinds of love are described with different words. Agape is the Greek word that is used to describe the giving of ones self for the benefit of others, the manifestation of a commitment to service. When I think about agape, I think about the 2011 Alternative Breaks crew- Sami, Eric, Tiana, Giana, Jessica, Megan, Maddie, Shannon, Jake, Jenna, Cassidy, and Jesse- you are all amazing and have inspired me think outside of myself about the much bigger world. Thanks for the great week, I won’t ever forget it!

Robin

4th Yr. Animal Science