When I first heard about Holy Cross’s Spring Break Immersion program, or SBIP for short, I pictured a certain kind of experience in my mind. I imagined myself on a typical immersion trip with a big group of students working in a rural town, bonded by absurd sleeping arrangements and the characters they encountered in the community. However, I ended up somewhere unexpected: in the city of Jacksonville in a group of three, the smallest group in the whole program.Â
This isn’t to say I was ungrateful for or bummed with my site placement, it just wasn’t what I had anticipated. I had a set image in my mind of what my trip was going to look like, specifically with a group of eight or more. I was also placed at a L’arce site, which briefly means my volunteering would consist of sharing a week with adults with intellectual disabilities. While I was excited for this opportunity, I was also nervous because this was a big step from the volunteering I did in high school with Best Buddies which was only a few hours a week. This immersion was unlike anything I had ever done before, which made me a little anxious to try something so new. Along with a plethora of other feelings, I came into SBIP with a fraction of disappointment in the back of my mind because the trip I was about to embark on wasn’t matching the trip I had envisioned.Â
Safe to say, I am very happy and thankful that I ended up on a different kind of trip than the one I had planned out in my head. After spending a day at L’arche, my nerves were quickly dissipated and replaced with a sense of curiosity about the community I was spending my week in. In addition, my expectations about my small group were defied. Since my group was only three, we became very close over the week. Catching connecting flights, entering unfamiliar situations, exploring St. Augustine and reflecting on our days together brought the three of us together over the course of the week. Along with all this, the people who I met and spent time with at L’arche Jacksonville, from core members to assistants to executive staff, were so amazing to talk with and learn from. While my experience wasn’t picture perfect at all times, it was real, unexpected and helped me gain perspective that I can bring back to my own life. As a girl who loves when things follow my plan, I am so very grateful that my SBIP experience didn’t.