Project 1 (Final Draft)

Austin Balon

Mat Wenzel

ENC 2135

10 July 2017

The Importance of Memories

Every morning I usually go through my closet trying to find what shirt I want to wear for that day. However, every now and then I will flip to this dark blue shirt in my closet. As I see it I am reminded of the significance this shirt truly has. On the back of the shirt is the image of a hand washing someone’s feet. This image is biblically known as Jesus washing the feet of his servant. This action, as stated in the bible, was to “set you an example in order that you may do what I have done to you”. Therefore, in my opinion, this image resembled putting the needs of another in front of my own. This resemblance is important because when I see the shirt I am reminded of the memories made when my friends and I had put the needs of others in front of ours. These memories were made during the summer of 2016. We had all decided to go on a mission trip that would involve some sort of repair or construction to someone’s home. A few weeks following signing up for the trip we were not sure what our mission was going to be. Then we got news that we would be going on a camping trip to Kentucky and we were all also a little shocked when we heard we would be building a house. They had informed us that they had all the materials, but could not afford any help. Even though we were all a little nervous because we had no prior experience of building a house we were motivated to help to the best of our abilities. During this trip is also when we all had received the dark blue shirts that had a stronger impact than I would’ve expected at the time. The shirt has allowed me to remember the memories made and lessons learned on that trip.

The friends that were going on this trip with me had been some of my closest friends and we all had many memories with each other. Going into this trip we knew there would be lots of memories made since we would be staying in tents, that happened to be on gravel, and basically making all of our meals we were going to eat. However, there were more memories made than I had expected. One event that sticks out to me was one day when we got back from a day of work. Before we left the work site we could see that the rain and wind had begun to pick up so we decided return to the campsite to make sure the tents would be fine. Before we could make it back the rain and wind had let loose and we were just hoping that the tents remained in place. As we pulled in we could see one of the two tents was still standing. However, the boys tent remained in place but was knocked completely down. We had realized that we left our pillows and blankets in the tent and my friend had left his phone, all of which got drenched by the rain. We all helped each other clean up and try to set the tent back up Even though this was an aggravating time we later were able to laugh about it. Another experience that was memorable, was when we were sitting on top of a truck and a uhaul trailer in Walmart’s parking lot to watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July. Events like this brought us closer and allowed us to further enjoy the trip. We were also able to all become friends with the family we had been helping. The family was very friendly and gracious for all the help we provided. Luckily the husband of the family had a lot of experience building homes so he had shown us many of his skills. One of the greatest memories of the trip was to see how happy the family was for our help. This was so impactful because the family had recently experienced a tragedy. Their granddaughter who had been living with them passes away and it was believed to be because of the mold growing in their trailer home. So, the family had to get out of the trailer home quickly and four of them were living in a camper that was probably difficult for one person alone to live in. That is why the family had decided to build a new home. They had purchased all the materials needed, but needed help putting things together. This is where why we were contacted to help. Although we were not able to finish the house we made a lot of progress. Months later the family had sent us pictures of the finished home which made us all very happy to see. This impactful trip had inspired me to have a passion for helping others.

So now every time that I see that dark blue shirt with the logo of hands washing someone’s feet I am reminded of all the memories and good times I had on this trip. Through this I had realized that I really enjoyed the feeling that came from helping someone. It was truly an amazing feeling to see joy come across the face of the family. Especially after all that they had been through. It was obvious that there was a lot of happiness during this time and that had inspired me to want to help others more often. With this thought in mind I had been thinking of way that I could help people every day and incorporate my own interest, in order to, be even more passionate about how I can help. Having a strong passion for health and fitness I decided that it would be a great avenue for one of the possible ways I could help others. After reading a quote that talked about how fitness is something that is not just a short term goal and must constantly include the goal to improve oneself even after a goal has been reached. Noticing that throughout the fitness industry a lot of people have an issue with staying motivated and continuing their fitness journey. I would like to have a better understanding on what is the most common reason people either give up or just quit when it comes to their own health. Once I have a better understanding on this I could possibly have an idea on ways to keep people and myself motivated and driven to achieve their goals within fitness and health. The next step would be determining how these ideas could be spread to others. Luckily, in society today social media can have an impact on individuals and many people are involved with it. For myself I watch a lot of YouTube which has inspired me and given me much information about health and fitness. Being inspired myself through this it could possibly be a platform in which I could help and motivate others to improve themselves. So, through fitness I may be able to pursue this passion created of helping others.

Bibliography

"Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet." Why Did Jesus WASH the Disciples Feet? N.p., n.d. Web. Accessed 06 July 2017