Badger 6

Meet the family. I never thought it possible to get so close with 8 people who were complete strangers 10 months ago. But I've come to know and understand these folks like no one else. It's a continuous 24/7 experience that doesn't allow for alone time, and a lot of official and unofficial bonding. This past two months we lived together in an apartment where 8 Corps members were divided into two bedrooms. Among the rest of the challenges we've faced this year, this is certainly one of them. Yet as crazy as we drove each other as uber-roommates, we're back from our project now and missing that big ol' green house that so many memories of this year have come from.

But yes, the year has come to a close, this past week has been a tough one. I've seen these people every single day for 10 months, and we're now off to our respective homes, and life will be different. All 9 of us have been through a lot, and we've all learned from each other, and we've changed in ways we have noticed and I'm sure have yet to understand yet. Life after AmeriCorps is about to begin, and we're moving on to new things, whether it is heading home, starting the job search, applying for or beginning classes, going back to old jobs, beginning another year with NCCC, and even starting new jobs, as three members of Badger 6 will be moving to New Orleans immediately after the program to continue to help others.

They all mean more to me than I ever expected, and they've each had such an impact on my life that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to explain it. Badger 6 started out as strangers back in February, when Drew took us to that table at the point to "break the ice" and get to know one another. At that time, I remember thinking about how in the world I had ended up on this team, on this unit, wondering why everything had changed so quickly after just one week of this journey. Looking back, I can't imagine having been on any other team than Badger 6. We became an unstoppable dynamic that has broken through the ice and created waves of change in communities up and down the east and gulf coasts. And now it's all over? Nah, you never lose touch with family. But I'm sure gonna miss 'em until the reunion.