Everybody’s Got Something
How small actions and experiences create great change.
Move-In Day–overwhelming and chaotic. First day of class–also overwhelming and chaotic. Both came and went with the blink of an eye. Before I knew it, it was my final week at the Freshman College Summer Experience at the University of Georgia. I had acquainted myself with the campus transit, the expectations of professors and rigorous classes. Most memorably, I had worked with Athens Habitat for Humanity through my service learning class. Realizing that I would not return to the site this Thursday, I felt a void. I sat in my desk that day, thinking about the first day I had worked with Habitat and the impact it had on me.
The day was July 6. It was specifically 9:05 AM when I rode up to the site. The sun had begun its ascent, covering the houses and striking a white banner that read “Athens Habitat for Humanity.” I jumped out of the car, and my feet met hot asphalt. The air felt humid, warm and thick. Looking at the porches, my eyes caught sight of three male figures. They stood on the porch of a yellow house, engaged in a conversation. All donned matching blue tee-shirts and washed denim jeans covered with mud and holes. “Two hours,” I thought, trying to be optimistic and hopeful. “That’s all. It’ll feel quick.” Little did I know, time would pass too quickly and I would long to come back.
“You look like you would enjoy usin’ the weed-eater,” one of the men would say, staring at me through his glasses as he smoked a cigarette. Doug–that was his name. He assigned me to work with Miro, one of the Germans who came to work with the organization each year. Nervous, I followed Miro and listened to his instructions. I felt like a fish out of water. I was not sure whether I would like this work or if I was good at this work. Why couldn’t I just paint?
An hour in, I found myself enjoying weed-eating. I no longer found a reason to complain. The work initially felt boring, tedious and ineffective. After a while, however, I no longer minded the work, the sweat, the heat or the physical fatigue. The work no longer felt futile or mundane. An unexpected contentment and gratitude had overcome me in only a matter of an hour.
The work was tiring, but it was more than just work. As I had entered the site the first morning, I had an internal focus, only concerned with the things that pertained to my life path and my aspirations. The work brought me a sense of reality and a more outward focus, helping me realize that many things like Habitat for Humanity were bigger than I was; the work that we were accomplishing on 118 Magnolia Terrace was bigger than any dream I could ever accomplish alone.
On my second day at Habitat for Humanity, I met a guy named Phil. He was a German who had spent a year in the States, working with Habitat. I worked with him to measure wooden posts for a deck that he would install the following week. By working with him, I got to learn about where he lived, how he had spent his time in States and whether he liked it here. “I really like the States. I pretty much just stay here and work with Habitat. It’s like my full-time job,” Phil would say. This response humbled me. There are so many sights, attractions, and events in the United States for foreign visitors, yet Phil had decided to come to Georgia and to serve the Athens community. I began thinking: What impact have I made on my community within the nineteen years that I have lived in the United States?
While gratification came from seeing the visible changes of the houses and developing friendships with classmates, my true fulfillment came from keeping the mindset that we partook in an effort bigger than all of us. We would leave these houses in a better condition. We would give people a place to live, restore their hope and offer them a chance to start a new life. Accomplishing personal goals and growth may feel satisfying, but that pales in comparison to what we had done as a group.
After leaving the site, I considered my future–my goals for the next four years, graduation from UGA and beyond. While Habitat put my dreams into perspective, my dreams were still important. I still aspired to be a psychologist, who helped LGBTQ+ youth understand their sexual orientations and gender identities. After months of waiting, I was finally in college. It was time to chase that dream. Every relatively small experience had brought me to this great moment. Athens would be my home for the next four years, the place where I would discover new friendships, overcome new challenges and achieve new feats. I would leave my self-doubt in the past and accept my inner greatness, pursuing a degree in Psychology and a Ph.D. specifically in Counseling Psychology. Although I would eventually leave Athens behind, I would carry the lessons I learned, the friendships I developed and the skills I harnessed into the real world to make my mark.
My time at the Freshman College Summer Experience changed who I was and how I viewed the world. I once believed that “great” roles were the only thing that allowed people to live extraordinary lives and to have significant impacts. I was completely wrong. It is often the seemingly small roles and small tasks that allow us to change the world. Our individual actions and experiences may feel small, but their collective impact is life-changing.
