Today was our last day. It was really sad to realize that tomorrow morning we are all getting on a plane to fly home to Tampa. We have only been here for 4 days, but it feels like so long and at the same time it went by so fast. We have done so much in the last few days; during our art day in Detroit, our two days in Flint and today in Detroit working with urban farming. It is sad to see the trip come to an end, but not only have we done a lot of volunteer work, we have really bonded as a group. I feel like we are all so much closer now. We have all come out of our shell more. We have come together through our hard work and our love of serve. Today we worked in the Lafayette Gardens in downtown Detroit as well as the Greening of Detroit farm just outside of the city. Also I’d like to give a shoutout to Josh for being our MVP today in carrying the wheelbarrows of dirt and Kylie for being such a dedicated hard worker all week – Kylie, you are awesome and you know how to get stuff done. Everyone in this group always gives so much to every task, we gel so well together when we work. I know I have made some real, genuine friends that I will have for a long time to come. I think that this trip gave all of us an opportunity to try something different. We had all been expecting the Dominican trip, but when we had a change of plans, while we were all sad about not going to the Dominican, we became extremely pumped for this trip and I think it was worth it completely. This trip is probably one of the most impactful and inspirational trips I have ever been on. And while we didn’t get the chance today to really get to interact with locals, we met Britney and several other members of the Greening of Detroit team who were so excited to have us out helping them. That is something I have really liked about this trip – how open and kind the people are, and how excited they are that we traveled “all this way” just to spend a few days helping out. Overall I think my favorite part of this trip was spending so much time with the other students, allowing us to really bond. But I also really enjoyed the first day we arrived in Detroit when we got to see all of the art culture and how they are trying to turn graffiti and street art into something much more beautiful than vandalism. This has been such an amazing opportunity for me on so many levels and I am so thankful for everything I have been able to do the past few days and I know this is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
-Domonique Stockon
