I'm gonna steal Anam's quote I read in her blog because I really liked it and I am just going to go with it. To quote Anam, "Wherever you go from here, take pride in what we accomplished, and remain humble by what we saw. ." I couldn't agree more with that and I'd like to share an experience I recently had that reminded me to stay humble, in light of my experiences in New Orleans and Nashville. Last Sunday, I took an hour long train ride into Madison Square Garden in New York city to see a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)event. (Some of you may know I'm a huge pro wrestling fanatic) The snow was piling up, the roads were terrible, and the blizzard was fierce. The trains were still operating to the city from Long Island. Coming back from the city was a different story. Following the 3 hour event (which did not live up to my expectations), Penn station which is the train station that is pretty much the center of Manhattan, where many commuters arrive and depart from, had cancelled its trains with no timetable for when they would resume. There was too much snow on the tracks. So here was me, my brother, and our friend, and we spent 18 hours in penn station. We slept on the dirty station ground next to the homeless at one point. I think the homeless were upset we were invading their territory. My attitude at first when finding out that the trains were cancelled was that I was kind of pissed off that we were stuck underground at a smelly rotten train station and missing out on a full day. But in the back of my head, I thought of the people in New Orleans and Nashville who had it way worse, and even the homeless I was sleeping next to. Those thoughts moved from the back of my head, to the front and then I wasn't so upset anymore. I was grateful for the aunte annes pretzels in penn station that I had a few bucks to spare to buy. I was grateful for the shelter of the station and that I wasn't outside in the blizzard. I was grateful to be around my brother and my friend. Here I was stuck for 18 hours in a train station..but able to come home to a house and a family. People in Nashville effected by the flooding may have lost their house..or even worse a family member or friend. My point of this blog is to remind myself and everyone else on the trip that when you think times are bad, think again. If you think are frustrated think of people that have it worse...Some of us may be struggling to figure out where we go as a member of the greater community after Nashville. Well, even if one doesn't embark on some sort of community service in the near future, you could still do the community some good. Spread your positive attitudes and energy along with a good vibe. Look at things in the best possible way. Help others in need if you can...Start a chain reaction. If someone sees you have that sort of spirit, maybe it can pass on..slowly, but surely. The spirit of Nashville will not fade...Lets keep it alive and flowing. Happy and healthy new year to everyone.
Cole Schlesinger
