Hi guys my name is Bri . Yes, that’s me grinning from ear to ear with glee like I’ve never seen a potato before. There’s just something so unreal about extracting your own food straight from the soil. This picture captured me harvesting sweet potatoes for the first time in my life. Something very foreign to my 20 years of existence. This is my first time doing an immersion trip and I can honestly say this has been one of my favorite things about my college experience.
There’s a rewarding high you get from doing service. The same feeling I received from digging deeper and deeper into the soil until I found golden sweet potato treasure. On this trip we focused on sustainability through gardening. Community gardening is used to combat food insecurity and food desserts.
Just to put everything into perspective I’ve only ever stepped into one other garden in my life before coming on this trip. Growing up as an African-American in an urban environment gardening is rare. Imagine a lifelong vegetarian stepping inside a meat market for the first time, yeahhhhhhh…… that was me.
This trip has challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone environmentally, mentally, and socially. But, a challenge for the better. Pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone I would not dare go near. I’ve learned about nutrients, farming, community initiatives, leadership, teamwork, St. Louis’ African-American history and more. From harvesting, mulching, weeding, tours in local neighborhoods, visiting the court house or prancing in front of the Arch. I’ve made friends, no more like family with people I never would’ve expected to in a million years. Through something I love, service. I am grateful to have gone on this trip, to be among these beautiful beings in this amazing city.
Yes, I’ve gone on this amazing trip and gained all of this knowledge as I just explained. But, I think the most important part of these trips is answering the question of “what will you choose to do now?” I plan to share the wealth of knowledge among my community, to ask more “whys” and intentionally invest in meaningful service.
Now I’m asking you. What will you do now ?
Signing off a proud citizen bear,
Briana Miller