Adieu to the Crew

Free wi-fi up in the sky. A lot has happened in the past 7 months, including the addition of internet-access to AirTran flights. I started this entry up there, and I'm continuing it back in Boston. The final week at the Mayor’s Summer of Service was filled with excitement, frustrations, and tears, as we celebrated our achievements, rolled with the punches on a challenging week, and said goodbye to our participants.

Our final week was a busy one, filled with All-Corps days where all of the crews worked and trained together all week, unlike other weeks where the format was reserved for Fridays. Earlier on in the week, we worked with Sasha Bruce, an organization dedicated to helping homeless youth; our crews helped packaged food and learned a lot more about homeless youth and transitional housing.

The rest of the week was full of confusion and frustration over how each day would unfold. Fortunately, the crews were all together and we were able to improvise and manage to still get things done. Our final day with the participants was bittersweet. All of us were tired, both the crew leaders and participants, so the upcoming break was on our minds. However, saying goodbye to the friends we've made this whole summer was difficult; Our participants made this project, and they kept us going through all of the challenges we'd faced.

Each crew gave a presentation or performance to sum up their projects and experiences. All of them were hilarious, and it was nice to see that everyone had fun putting them together. Lili and my crew organized a step performance/battle of sorts, that started with the women showing how a real step is done, and the guys ending with our showing-off of our stepping skills. We only made the women's performance look that much better, and I think everyone got a kick out of it.

Mayor's Summer of Service t-shirts were given out to the participants, and we grabbed some extras as well, to commence in the signing of each other's shirts, something that wasn't planned. It was a nice end to the day, as it was the last time we'd be seeing our crews. Just a few days have gone by, and I already miss Blue Crew 3. Right about now, they've started the school year, and are probably in class, talking about a summer unlike anyone else's. I hope, like me, it's one that's had a positive impact.