A few months ago, applications came out at my school to sign up for a Habitat for Humanity trip. There were several locations offered, and I chose the Colorado location because I’d always wanted to go there. I didn’t know much about Habitat, other than it had to do with building homes for families. My week long trip surrounded by mountains, people I hardly knew, and a work crew of goofy guys was, safe to say, life changing.
My first day on the worksite, I did a lot of cleaning. It wasn’t that exciting to me, but the group of people I was with made it a lot of fun. We bonded over the most random things. As the week progressed, I was able to work on actual homes, and it became more and more real that this was going to be a place a family was going to live. There was a point when I was standing in an upstairs of one of the buildings we were working on, and I had this overwhelming sense of happiness for what I was doing. We had an ongoing saying throughout the week: “We’re doing good things for good people”.
Going on a Habitat for Humanity trip was a spur of the moment decision for me, but it was something I will never regret. Being able to meet new people, make connections, and help those in need were some of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had in college so far. There’s nothing quite like putting the time and work into something meaningful to someone.