Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Friendships and Gratitude

The following is a reflection written by Anna Paige Frein, one of this year's South House Volunteers.

After spending a year with my head in the books pursuing my MSW degree I knew I was ready to step out of my comfort zone and into a new environment where I would be challenged and encouraged to actively love others through service. I had no idea what to expect when walking through the doors to my new Amate home on the first day of August. On the other side of that door I discovered nine of the most interesting and hilarious individuals imaginable. All of my housemates have different life experiences, beliefs, and worldviews to offer. Some say pop and some say soda. Some are artists, athletes, bookworms, musicians, and travelers, and most of us are just trying to figure out this thing called life.

The wonderful thing about Amate House is that it brings together dozens of young adults from all over the nation who are willing to spend a year serving others. We may all come from unique places and backgrounds, but we are all here for the same reason. Throughout orientation we were able to open up about our individual experiences with service, social justice, faith, and community, which helped us form the foundation for our year to come. We have come to realize that we are all in this together. We will all have to shovel snow in the winter, help jump the Amate cars when they do not start in the morning, and encourage each other when we have challenging days.  

The two weeks of orientation also allowed us to learn more about the program, build friendships, and explore the city and our neighborhoods. As a small town Arkansan I am so excited to live in a city that has frequent street festivals, concerts and movies in Millennium Park, and deep dish pizza. However, my favorite part so far has been getting to know all of my housemates and the other Amate House volunteers. We have bonded over the fact that we are all super weird and I am pretty sure there will rarely be a dull moment around our house. Our time around the dinner table has been filled with stories and laughter, and our weekends have been filled with fun and adventure. 

Now that orientation is over we all get to embark together on this year long journey of service. We have already been at our sites for a few days now and every afternoon someone has an interesting story to share about their placement. Most of the volunteers in my house serve as mentors, teachers, social service workers, or volunteer coordinators at agencies that serve at-risk populations on the South Side of Chicago. On my first day of work at St. Sabina Catholic Charities my supervisor told me that one of the main things I will hopefully take away from this year is a new sense of gratitude for all that I have been given. She is already spot on! After spending one week at my site I have already experienced renewed gratitude for the people and experiences that have brought me to this point in my life and for the opportunity to serve alongside all of these new great people this upcoming year. I am especially thankful for the little things like being able to watch the parade for the Jackie Robinson West championship little league team from the South Side with my new coworkers today. The sense of pride and excitement for this team was contagious and it made me feel like a member of the St. Sabina community. 

The first month of Amate has been an incredible experience so far.  I can only imagine where a year will take us! I am always one to look ahead to the distant future, so I have already thought about what it will be like leaving this group of beautiful people at the end of the year. But then I stopped myself because I did not want to take away from the present moment. For now I get to spend every day with this group of authentic and eclectic people and I could not be happier.



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