D.C. Day 3: Wednesday, March 18
What are my thoughts about this trip so far? This entire trip so far has been very eye opening and enlightening about just how fortunate I am. The dinner we helped out with last night was what really drove this point home for me. I sat there and listened to the guest's stories and it made me realize just how hard my parents have worked to keep my family out of a similar situation. By the time I was born I had two older brothers, my mom stayed home to take care of all three of us, and my dad worked two jobs to support us. I shared a room with my brother Bryant for several years, and growing up we never had the latest and greatest things, but we did have three things. Clean clothes to wear, a roof over our head, and hot food in our stomachs. My dad has worked so hard for his entire life to support my family financially and my mom has worked just as hard to make wherever we were living a good place for us all to live. I never really thought about any of these things until last night. Listening to the guests stories drove it home for me. I am INCREDIBLY lucky to be where I am now and to have the opportunities that I have today. The people I have to thank for this are my parents. I spent the entire dinner last night just trying not to cry, but after the dinner was over I called my parents back in Kansas just to check in with me. I was doing fine until they asked me how the dinner was. I told them about the guests, and I couldn't hold back anymore. I started crying and told them thank you for everything. I told them how much I appreciated everything they鈥檝e done for me and my brothers Brandon and Bryant and just kept saying thank you over and over again. I came on this trip to help the homeless and hungry in Washington DC, and I knew that it would have an impact on me, but I never would of dreamed that it would have such a powerful impact on my own perspective of my own life. I saw this trip as a way to help people less fortunate than me, but now I need to tell all of the people we鈥檙e helping thank you for changing my perspective on my entire life. There isn't a doubt in my mind that this trip has changed me, and I also don't have a doubt that I will never forget the faces of everybody I鈥檝e meet and helped in someway on this trip. This trip has been more than educational. It鈥檚 been enlightening, put my entire life back in Kansas in perspective, and all I can really be is thankful that I鈥檝e had the opportunity to go on this trip.
鈥� Bruce Hadley
