716 West 28th Street

Hi everyone! I just returned from three weeks in Los Angeles at Urban Project. To sum it up in one word...AMAZING. I didn't want to leave and I miss it already. I have so many thoughts going on in my head that it is really hard to make sense of them. Once I get them all organized I will be writing multiple blogs about all the different stuff I learned and experienced. Be patient with me...there is a lot to think about.

Right now I want to talk about COMMUNITY.

When I first walked into the fraternity house that I would be living in for three weeks, I'm not gonna lie, I freaked out a little bit. I slept on an air mattress, on the floor. I had 2 roommates. There was no air conditioning. There were 4 stalls and 4 showers for nearly 20 girls. We ate peanut butter and jelly every single day for lunch, on $1 bread. We at some sort of fried meat every night for dinner, and all the side dishes had at least 3 sticks of butter in them. I quickly realized how spoiled I am. The food made me pretty sick for the first 5 days. After I got over my illness and then, more importantly, after I got over myself...that place became home to me. Now...I have a new appreciation for food and I kind of want to sleep on an air mattress for the rest of my life. It was a simple, less cluttered lifestyle.

Ok, enough about the living conditions. The PEOPLE are what I am missing the most about my time in L.A. It is hard to put into words the amount of love and community we lived in. We weren't there to "get ours" and compete with one another. We were there to look out for and take care of each other. We were there to sacrifice for the sake of the family. We lived life TOGETHER. We all understood that "it's not about ME," but that we were there to serve each other. These people who I spent only three weeks with are now my brothers and sisters. I already know that some of them are now my best friends for life. It's amazing how fast we bonded and just loved each other without hesitation.

Let me tell you about one of my favorite nights. A bunch of us girls climbed up onto the roof of the frat house to have a dance party. It was hilarious and we probably looked ridiculous. After thoroughly wearing ourselves out, we blasted worship music and laid our heads together in a circle, staring up at the stars. We didn't talk at all, but we just laid there. Do you ever have those moments when you just feel safe and content and accepted and loved and at home? This was one of those moments.

Why can't the world be like that? I can guarantee you that if it were, it would be a much better place. The reality is that it is far from that type of community. Instead, it is full of hate, anger, bitterness, jealousy, pain, competition and, ultimately, selfishness. It is because of all of these things that our world is becoming more and more evil and twisted. This is what makes it so challenging to leave that environment and return to the real world.

Living like that for three weeks was a glimpse of heaven. I know that it was not "reality" as we know it but...why can't it be?

By the last day, we couldn't stop crying and hugging each other. We knew that we were leaving behind something special. Something that we may never experience again. Now, this new family of mine is dispersed throughout the United States on our respective campuses. It is sad and it is frustrating, but it is now up to each of us to try and create that same community throughout the world. Impossible? Maybe. But that doesn't mean we aren't going to try.