6/22/10

I'm so happy. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be part of AmeriCorps. I'm grateful for the fate that led me to come here to the Pittsburgh Project. I can't imagine how I would survive any of this without the grace of my friends here in Pittsburgh and back home in Michigan. I keep thinking about how sad I am going to be when I move back home after the summer. But...as I am constantly trying, I am looking at the positives of this whole experience. Yes, I am going to be extremely sad after this summer, but I am going to walk away with such great friendships that I will be able to carry on (hopefully) after this summer extravaganza. Even more, I will walk out of Pittsburgh a much stronger person not only because of the challenges I have had to face while here, but because my peers have helped me achieve this uplifting point in my life.

Some people have been asking me "has your faith changed since you've been there?" The bona fide truth is.... I'm not sure. It's a good "not sure" though. I think I am definitely at a great point in my faith. Before coming here, I'm not sure I even believed in anything. But, by the grace of God, I certainly am believing something....

I have been through hell in the past couple of weeks. No doubt. I have been thrown on the most extreme emotional roller coaster you can possibly imagine. I have been picked up to the highest....and dropped down as fast as an anchor. Yet....I still find a way to relieve myself and pick myself up from the ground. But not alone. Definitely not. There is no question that without the emotional and physical help from my parents, friends here, and friends home that I couldn't do this without them. So to all of you who know you are........Thank you. Genuinely, Thank you. You may not know how significant you were in my time of despair and need, but you should know that all of you have helped me become who I am right now. And that person is a better, stronger, more stable person who now has his priorities clear and in order. No longer will I dwell on being played like a marionette. Nope. I've cut the strings, and am free to do what I have come here to do. I am free to make my own decisions and responsible enough to know what is good for me, right now and in the long run.

I love you all!