October break

I am finally going on a S.O.U.L. trip! It's nice that they offer smaller ones over October break in addition to the February break trips.

I didn't realize this trip would involve actually camping out in tents until yesterday, so I'mnot as excited as I could be. I'm trying to keep an open mind though. It's a brand new service experience for me; it will even be significantly different from the Biloxi trip freshman year. I'll also have a great chance to meet some new people and hang out with some pretty cool people I already know.

I am a little upset that I'm not relaxing over break, especially since next weekend is an editing weekend and I'm already feeling very overwhelmed. Again though, I'm trying to keep an open mind. I'm sure it will be a fun experience, and I'm positive it will be a unique opportunity that I will be happy with taking advantage of. I won't be able to do something quite like this after May. This is a chance to get away from classes, meetings, technology, and my usual group of friends in order to learn more about the world around me and learn more about the environment.

I think that as long as I don't feel too cold (it's supposed to be pretty bad this weekend), I should be fine.

On a separate note, I've realized that I am still not comfortable giving my opinion of what it means to be Lasallian. I know that I have an answer, but I don't feel confident enough giving that answer on the spot... especially with a group of people listening to my answer. I also learned that I don't appreciate being made to feel inferior for not giving an answer. I took on this mission of sorts for senior year with the idea that I can take my time and really take it all in. It is a personal desire of mine to gain as deep an understanding as possible of the Lasallian mission so that I can continue to incorporate it into my life after graduation. It's easy enough to do here at Saint Mary's, where Lasallian activities and services are planned for me. The real challenge is to be able to take it with me to use on my own once I leave SMU.

I have a feeling this S.O.U.L. trip is going to help with that understanding...