My mom and I were talking about what I had planned as we drove back home from my college, and we began to joke around (like always):
What if you get arrested for loitering?
What if someone catches you in the middle of awkwardly putting a note on their car?
What if you spell something wrong?
We laughed and kept driving, but I couldn't help thinking about all of the other, scarier "what ifs" with this project.
What if people take advantage of me?
What if I upset people instead of help them?
What if I run out of money or have to stop before I can reach out to everyone I want to?
I have to admit, I started getting a little worried about doing this, which is really strange seeing as this is all I've been looking forward to all week. But I am certainly having my doubts right now.
Regardless of how this week plays out, I'm going to make sure that I give everything I can to this project. I feel like since I've been in college, I haven't really had the chance to give back to the people around me as much as I would have liked to, especially since I go to school in Atlanta. A lot of people claim that a big city like Atlanta is a feeding ground for helping other people, but for me, I have such a difficult time continuously pouring into the people in need there. It's such a huge area that I never feel like I'm doing enough, like I'm never going to be able to have the impact that I want to have on the world around me. That's pretty disheartening for me and makes it really hard to stay encouraged. Don't get me wrong: I know everyone deserves to have help, regardless of where they live! But in Hampton, I feel like I can have a much more powerful impact on my community. It's a fraction of the size of Atlanta, and it's the type of town where everyone knows everyone, an aspect that makes this project even better in my opinion.
I don't want to completely disregard Atlanta though, because it is in fact an area that is in desperate need of help. I'm heading into Atlanta Monday for a day of service, friendship, and love, and I plan on making this day as meaningful as possible.
A lot of people don't really understand my motivation for doing this. They think I'm overambitious, they think I'm taking to big of a risk, they think I should "play it safer" and just relax this break. My question for them: when has playing it safe ever changed the world?
If Rosa Parks played it safe, I wouldn't be able to talk to my South African best friend.
If Mother Teresea played it safe, poverty and charity would still be concepts foreign to our society.
If Bill Gates played it safe, you probably wouldn't be reading this right now.
This pattern is not a coincidence. You have to get out of your comfort zone if you want to even have hope for making a difference in the world around you. So, as I embark on this exciting journey, I want to remember my mission statement and my primary purpose for this entire event:
Show others that they matter.
