Yesterday, we had the opportunity to learn about living in southern Louisiana from the perspective of those who live here. We took a tour of the Whitney Plantation, the previously flooded lower ninth ward, and uptown New Orleans. It was a very educational day, preparing us for the rest of the week to serve in the local community with a fresh, hopefully more empathetic viewpoint. Waking up as early as 5:30, this amazing and eager group of MSU volunteers started the day nice and early with breakfast at 6:30, arriving at the job site at 8. We are serving with Habit for Humanity this week; some of us had experience with this organization, others did not. Either way, each of us were eager to get started on the house. We spent the majority of the day leveling the front yard, laying sod, building the front stairway, tearing down the old back stairway, and building the back fence in weather varying from 40 to 60 degrees as the day progressed. Everyone put in a hard days work, and I was just so ecstatic to see each member in our group bonding with one another as well as other groups. You really get to know someone when you have to work with them in a team setting, and it was awesome seeing everyone laughing and talking while getting scratched up and covered in dirt.
We were pretty beat when we got back to camp, so we showered and rested before dinner. After dinner, we did our daily reflection which gives us the opportunity to discuss what we’ve learned, what we’ve done, and our future goals. I am especially fond of this group because of the level of openness and honesty in our conversations, as well as all of the encouragement. Being immersed in a culture different from our own, I truly see everyone growing towards active citizenship. One thing I see as particularly important in the process of maturing as active citizens, but also as people in general is empathy. Empathy is basically putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s looking at that person’s situation, being aware of their feelings, and to the best of your ability, serving them in a way that communicates your love and care for them. This is truly the attitude behind serving, an attitude that if adopted by every individual would make the world a better place.