RSB, Grand Canyon 2024
Being a part of this experience of raider service break was the most wonderful college experience. When I received the email to see if I wanted to join the trip I immediately responded.
Being not well traveled and taking a trip to Arizona and going to the Grand Canyon to devote my time to volunteer during spring break sounded like a great time, we impacted many individuals visits and helped the rangers out with the long line that develops in the visitor's center. Arriving at the Grand Canyon I had expected much different, I thought it would just be complete desert with one big hole in the middle. I didn't do any research of the Grand Canyon prior as I wanted it to be a complete surprise on my behalf. After being shown the Grand Canyon with the expectations I had prior I was amazed. Opening my eyes to the canyon it seemed so unreal it genuinely looked like a hologram I couldn't believe that it was real.
The Grand Canyon is most definitely a beautiful place to visit as it had a very healing energy with it as well. This trip also allowed me to reconnect with nature and truly helped me develop a new deep-rooted connection with nature. It also created a goal that I want to complete within my lifetime which Is visiting all the national parks in the United States. Leaving the Grand Canyon made me have a different lens on the way I view life. Being around individuals I have never met prior was a great opportunity for me as well.
The Group that I came with was truly amazing. Everyone got along, the energy was always great, and we truly uplifted each other. Being around them just for a short period of time I got to be comfortable with them and could get out of my shell as sometimes I can come off as very nervous but there was none of that here. We would have game nights in our cabins and just enjoy each other's company and learn things about one another. It was like we became best friends in that short period of time. The Car ride to Arizona seemed super short! Riding with Sarah and Jace with their amazing music taste and having very fruitful conversations didn't make it feel as if was a 12-hour drive as I was consistently amused, also mostly asleep too. Being apart of this trip also made me realize a lot of things about myself. As I can be very overcritical of myself and my work and wrap myself in an overload of work which makes me forget to appreciate the little things in life, coming to the Grand Canyon showed me that life can truly be beautiful but only if you make it. Also, that I can be so wrapped in with work that I forget to give myself mental breaks which cause me to become overstimulated and overwhelmed fairly quickly. Given this trip made me allow myself to sit back and take a break to pour into myself. I also got to understand who I was in a group setting things that I would continue doing and things that I may do differently. There were many experiences that I had here that I would remember for the rest of my life. Wednesday of that week was our free day to explore around the Grand Canyon.
That Day my group decided to buy souvenirs and try different restaurants. We went to an Italian restaurant, and I tried one of the best chicken alfredo I've ever had. During this time, I really had time to sit with Sarah and Oliver and we got to talk about our college experiences. Given this time I got to understand that others went through similar situations that I had gone through with my first year of a university setting and that I wasn't alone. We also got to take beautiful pictures of the trail to get a better look at the Grand Canyon. Another experience that truly made my heart happy is that the last day of our volunteering was this precious older ladies' birthday, and she had a few questions and really wanted to be able to see the Grand Canyon, but it was extremely cloudy. Her and family left, we were thinking we may not see them again but no that wasn't the case. After about 30 minutes she came back super excited and told us she had seen the canyon. Her nephew insisted that he get a picture of our group because of our incredible work. This gesture really topped off the whole week and just felt for an official closing to the opportunity that I was given. Being able to know that I influenced many individuals just with my short period of time really melted my heart. Knowing that a stranger that I'll never see again has a picture of me on their phone really feels as if I did something good out of the kindness of my own heart. An experience I also enjoyed was cooking dinner as my dinner was cooking chicken and beef fajitas. As cooking is already therapeutic for me, I learned many methods to cut different vegetables and learned how to tell if meat is truly cooked as well. Sarah was such a patient and very passionate about teaching us as well, which made me enjoy cooking with her as well. Lastly the experience I enjoyed the most of all was the scavenger hunt for the food we needed to get to cook our meals. It was a very entertaining situation as it was interesting what people picked up to use for our meals. Also experiencing a grocery store that I'd never been to is very cool too. By the Grocery store they was a huge mountain next to it imagine shopping next to a huge mountain. But if your given this opportunity take it this truly a one in a lifetime experience that you will never forget.
