Do we HAVE to go back to Pittsburgh?

March 12, 2011 P.M.

I think I speak for everyone when I say that leaving was not something we were looking forward to.

Throughout the entire week, I kept noticing how quickly the time was passing. I often caught myself wishing that the days would move slower so that I could bask in these moments longer. Opportunities like this spring break trip make me proud of who I am and proud of the people that I have come to know over the past few days.

You wouldn’t expect to become so close to people in a mere week, but when you are sharing a bed and you creepily wake up to your bedmate attempting to spoon, you become friends real fast. Haha. Not to mention the assembly-line style cafeteria that was set up in the room I shared with three lovely students/friends. We all saw each other all of the time, so it was inevitable that we would at least get to know the names and faces of everyone on the trip. What happened amongst us was so much more, though, then just being able to point at a person and state their name.



We grew with each other and learned unique, interesting, and sometimes unexpected things about everyone. I showed people my “skills” as the next rap sensation, Alicia showed us all how much she truly dislikes seafood (at least after its already dead and cooked), J.W. proved that he was a monkey in a past life by impressively climbing the tree that left Shay on the ground with a butt covered in dirt.



I could say amazing things about everyone, but I will not continue to ramble. (I will wait to share more of these amazing memories when we all meet for dinner a.k.a. I am using this as leverage that it must happen! Ha.)



I would just like to say thank you to everyone: to the students that went on the trip; to the group leaders that guided us (and sometimes took us off track); to the other schools that came to volunteer their time in Miami; to the AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity workers; to the future homeowners (without them we would not have even gone on this trip); to Point Park for making this trip possible; and for anyone and everyone else involved.



Beautiful week. Beautiful people. Beautiful memories.

--Kelly Cline