On Friday night we hosted a successful fundraiser at Wilf's, called Performance for Change. We had some wonderful acts and I was glad to see the effort everyone put in. I definitely appreciate the passion I see in each Future of Africa volunteer but what really amazed me that particular night was seeing the support I had from my friends.
After becoming what I felt was an ugly marketing machine, I was surprised to see a great number of friends come out to show their support. I had been talking to one of the guys that's going on the trip and he was saying that his roommates didn't even come out to support him. It struck a rare emotional chord inside me, helping me to realize just how valuable friendship is.
(Warning: bragging is about to ensue)
How is it possible that I had three Cord editors, past and current roommates, friends from church, friends from first-year, a volunteer writer/friend and two incredible musicians that I met randomly through a friend, come out to support not only me but a group of people they don't even know?
When looking around the room that night I felt both incredibly lucky and sad. Although I've been jokingly telling everyone I'll probably never see them again after I leave, in that moment I felt like that was partly true. I'm going to do my best to keep in touch and obviously I have amazing friends that I hope will try to do the same (it can't be that difficult with Facebook, right?) but I can't help but think that the changes I'll be making to my life in the next year can either make or break relationships.
Despite all the unsettling emotions that come along with graduating, leaving the country for ten weeks and eventually job-hunting in foreign countries, I found a sense of peace that night in the moments where I was able to look each of my friends in the eyes and genuinely thank them for their financial and more importantly, for their moral support.
*In case anyone was wondering, even though I came to the solid realization that my friends are totally awesome, the 50/50 draw that I conducted was not rigged so that Laura Carlson would win while I was sitting at the same table as her.*
Define "eventually". While it comes as no surprise that you would want to work abroad, this post makes it sound like it is something you deem both urgent and semi-permanent. When you have a free moment to elaborate, fill a brother in, will ya? Glad the event went well!
ReplyDeleteWhen we get back from Africa I'll be going straight to New Brunswick for the rest of the summer and that is when the "eventually" will kick in (or perhaps I'll start looking for jobs during reading week). I would like to have a job for September, preferably in another country.
ReplyDeleteThis is why you have to come visit me during your post JHR travels. I'm really not sure if/when I'll come back to Waterloo and that's the honest truth.
Excellent, I found this blog you spoke of linked through Mike's! It was a wonderful event Heather, especially the musical talent and the 50/50 draw :) And yes that was too funny that you were sitting at my table when I won, lol.
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