so why are you here?

i wish i would have counted the number of times i have been asked this question since i moved to wisconsin. "i went to college in ny." "whatttt...so why are you here?!' the conversation generally goes something like this and usually leads to me explaining what lasallian volunteers is and where i work and in fact, why i am actually living in racine.

but even after answering this question a countless number of times, i still feel like i havent really answered it for anyone! i know the answer to the question, but its not anything that i can tell someone in a quick 20 second explanation. so i figured it would be nice to actually be able to explain my thought process in a blog entry :)

when i first moved here, there were zero reasons in my mind as to why i was being sent to live in racine. my answer to this question in august was something like "i am taking part in a year long volunteer experience and this is where i was placed" followed by me thinking "what have i gotten myself into?!"

over winter break i was talking about my experience so far with someone and my response was no longer "what have i gotten myself into?!" but instead it was "this is what i am supposed to be doing right now." and it felt good to finally be able to say that! her and i continued talking and she told me about a service experience she had in ecuador when they were asked the same question. "so why are you here?" and at first there seems like there is not really a clear answer and then all of a sudden, one day, something happens and there are tonssssss of reasons as to why you are doing what you are doing. when she said this i couldnt agree more! i now see lots of reasons as to why my journey has lead me to serving at john xxiii educational center.

so why am i here? as surprising as it sounds, the list is longggg and sometimes i cant even articulate what exactly it is that proves to me that i am in fact supposed to be here. the obvious answers: because the kids here need someone to remind them that school is important, to show them that adults actually value what they think and do, and because without the work of the center, many of these kids would simply fall through the cracks. the other (more important) answers: because i cant remembered a time in life when i have grown this much in such a short amount of time, i can build relationships with students and families that are easily dismissed by others, and because if you dont try something you will never know if you actually like it!