Hello everyone! As I sit in the Appalachian Highlands Center, I prepare for my last week of travels ahead of me. I’ll be visiting two of the eight-week centers, and then heading back to Johnson City to spend wrap up with the rest of my peers.
Over the past 71 days, I have learned a lot about myself. This came through self-reflection, and especially interactions with those around me. Within ASP, there are no strangers. Even if I am talking to someone for the first time, a connection has already been formed. These connections are built through a shared dedication to service: whether you’re volunteering, managing those volunteers, managing those who manage the volunteers, gathering stories, delivering merch, or fulfilling any other role.
One of the personal skills I’ve built this summer is open-mindedness. Open-mindedness is a broad concept, but I’ve specifically felt an improvement in my ability to look past pre-conceived notions towards those around me. An organization built upon the efforts of youth, and those freshly out of youth, has to deal with unique workplace conditions. One of the defining factors of your high school to college years is figuring out where you fit in, where you don’t, and how you decide who you surround yourself with. This stage of life often brings with it a prioritization in searching for people who are just like you, and avoiding those who aren’t. At ASP, that prioritization disappeared. I no longer chose who I talked to based off how I perceived them from a distance. I chose to look for similarities in everyone around me, and it was so immensely worth it. I found friends in those from northern, urban areas, and those from rural, southern areas. I found friends who are many years older than me. I found friends with no interest in sports, cars, or country music. I found friends who are nothing like me. When it comes to finding friends, I’ve learned to prioritize nothing. There should be no boundaries to which neighbors I choose to love.
I’ve learned how to appreciate. I have lived my entire life always expecting more: expecting more from myself, those around me, the places I go, the things I do. The past few months have taught me to slow down, and appreciate what has already been done, and appreciate the ability to tackle what has yet to come. I’m not in the Himalayas or the Rockies, but these Appalachian hills sure are better than the flat farmland I’m used to. I didn’t get to every county in the region, but the eleven I did visit allowed me to see new places, meet new people, and gain new experiences. The ability to travel across five states as part of my summer job sure beats mowing the same grass every day. I haven’t seen my at-home friends and family since early May, but I’ve made countless new friends, and built a new sense of family since then. Having expectations for yourself is a great thing. However, continuously raising those expectations as soon as you meet them harbors a feeling of dissatisfaction. I’ve learned to be confident in my ability to achieve my goals, and be thankful for the fundamental opportunity to strive for them.
Appalachia Service Project has allowed me to meet so many great people. It taught me to love my neighbor. The most important aspect of loving my neighbor that I’ve gathered over this summer is realizing that no one person is more worthy of love than anyone else. Even when someone does something you disagree with, believes in something that you don’t, doesn’t contribute as much as you do, love them anyways. There is nothing you will ever lose from being a good neighbor to someone else. In a world that seems so divided, be a part of something that unifies.
Goodbye, for now,
Jaxson Gage
Story Gathering Intern
