Some Things Happened in September

Since the beginning of my term as an AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps Team Leader, a lot of my individual freedoms have been somewhat stripped. I am required to wear a uniform, I need to be on campus at certain hours, I have places to be at specific times, and I have a team to take care of, among other things. I have standards to uphold and rules to follow…but unlike most Corps Members, I do not feel constrained by these guidelines. I have actually found myself growing more in the past three months than I have in the past three years. The guidelines I am expected to uphold as a Team Leader are helping me make safer, smarter, and healthier decisions for my life. I get more sleep, read more books, spend less money, and create more meaningful relationships with those around me. I attribute a lot of this success to the fact that I have less time for myself…so I’m using it more wisely and what a wonderful transformation I have seen thus far. Below are a few things that helped me really feel like me this month:

Exercise, exercise, exercise.

September is the month that I discovered the close-by and beautiful look-out over the Mississippi River. Within about two weeks, I visited that look-out at least five times…with five different groups of people. Some days, I walked in conversation with fellow Team Leaders, other days, I ran it. Sometimes I travelled there with the intention of catching the sunset and other times, it was just a beautiful backdrop for the start of a beautiful day. This location…and the way I travelled to it…made for a perfect escape from responsibilities without being too out of touch of reality.

Ultimate Frisbee. Enough said.

Taking Time to Have a Conversation

I have recently begun telling myself “Any day I have a non-work related conversation is a good day.” This is a realization that actually brings me a large amount of sadness—so frequently I operate as “Team Leader Shannon” 24-hours straight and multiple days in a row.  It does make those few moments of honest, friendly indulgence even better, though. Finally, about halfway through September, I took the time to put off tomorrow’s responsibilities and stopped venting about daily aggravations to get to know one of my fellow Team Leaders better. We talked about our lack-of-love lives, friendships we have back home, and things we both do to maintain our sanity on a regular basis. It was refreshing and freeing to be someone’s friend again. Our opportunities to get to know each other better are few and far between now…but I’m grateful for those few hours I set aside to deepen a friendship.

Going to Church

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I attend a church called Cedar Grove in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This is the first time in a long time that I have chosen to go to church as a member of the congregation…not as a member of the choir. It’s funny though…the reason, I’ve found, that I love this church so much is that everyone is a part of the choir. The music is all-consuming. I am intoxicated by the experience every week that I attend.

Bayou 6—“Sassy Six”

In the beginning of September, I had the joy of meeting my permanent team. For those of you who know me in any capacity, you know that I get really excited about certain things…and sometimes I make a fool of myself. Well, Team Reveal Day, I fulfilled both of those aspects of my personality. After anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new team, I announced that I was their permanent Team Leader! J Very soon after this revelation, I half-choked on the gluten-free cookies I made for them and drooled all over my shirt. Great first impression, Shan.

While my team is full of…personality…each and every member has an unbelievable amount of goodness in their heart. I am very lucky to say that I get along with all of my Corps Members; they all just don’t necessarily get along with one another all the time. Baby steps, right? September was challenging for this new team (but as of 95% of the way through October, team morale is “good”). J

FEMA Corps Class 20 Induction Ceremony

Wow. Just wow. This ceremony was beautiful. The AmeriChoir, organized by my lovely roommate, sounded incredible on the National Anthem, one of my Corps Members was the emcee (proud Team Leader moment), the Corps Member reflection speaker was hilarious, the AmeriCorps 20^th Anniversary video was inspirational, and the AmeriBand’s rendition of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros had me sobbing like a baby—seriously, ask anyone. Another one of my Corps Member was the trumpet player in the song…so of course, when everyone cheered at her solo I cried even more. The five minutes in which the band played “Home”, my mind raced with pride for my team, for my positive decisions since beginning this program, I reflected on the friendships fostered during our months of training, and reveled in the unknowns of the coming year.

The Simple Serendipities

As always, there were wonderful things that happened this month that I couldn’t box in—I love when that happens. Here’s what made me smile this month:

Celebrating Accomplishments. One of my very dearest friends returned to the United States after a year of traveling the world. Yes, the world. Check out his blog here: www.thequestforawesome.com. I am so proud of you for following your heart and accomplishing your dream, David.

Rain. As it always does. There was one particular day this month that the rain was relentless. My team and I had to walk about 100 feet in the rain…really not that far, and every last one of us was soaked to the bone. I took a few moments longer outside stood with my arms outstretched and let the rain consume me. All my problems washed away. I felt brand new.

“I promise to ask for help” Contract. On a particularly challenging day with my team, a fellow Team Leader wrote a contract on a scrap piece of paper for both him and me. It is signed and dated. It’s such a small gesture…but it meant so much more than the verbal promise of: “Call if you ever need help”. I carry this piece of paper with me everywhere, just in case I need a little reminder to ask for help.

Camp Duncan Gray. Ah, the location of my best night’s sleep ever. This gorgeous campground is located in Canton, Mississippi next to a serene lake. Even with the insanity of training, feeding my team, managing conflicts, and clearing trails…I felt peacefulness every time I laid eyes on the neighboring lake. The combination of creaking crickets, endlessly starry night skies, and the reflections of the lake made me never want to leave.

Momma Visited! My mother has always shown me a ridiculous amount of support in every last thing I do. Her coming all the way out to Mississippi was yet another one of her ways to show how much she loves, supports, and misses me. We went out to dinners just the two of us, she met some of my closest friends I’ve made through this program, she met my team, we talked for hours on end, and she just did Mom things. I felt taken care of. It was perfect. Thank you again, Mom.