It’s been difficult to wrap my head around it all. Never in a million years did I ever see myself where I am today and I am nothing but overjoyed to say God has showed me the true beauty in life. I’ve always been a sucker for the little things in life. People-watching, a smile from a stranger, someone saying have a good day, the tingling of the sun on my skin, laughing until tears fill my eyes. I’ve always lived for the little things. Yet, here I am embarking on the trip of a lifetime, something so big to live for. And then I realized, it’s not “what” I’m living for, it’s who I’m living for.
I’m a senior in high school and looking back time has gone by faster than I was ready for. I’ve always been surrounded by my goofy and loving family that I believe have pushed me to be where I am today. Ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to be hands on in the lives around me. Naturally, I decided volunteering was going to be what was going to fulfill that want and desire to be involved. Continuing in high school, I’ve been actively participating and working with organizations and groups around Pittsburgh. On the other hand, just this past year I started feeling like there had to be more out there than what I had seen. I felt like I was changing at 1,000 mph and the world around me was only moving at 5mph. I had everything I ever wanted. A loving and supportive family, friends who were there for me, a safe house to come home to everyday. But, something was still missing.
Have you ever felt something just wasn’t enough? The World Race stumbled miraculously into my life at the beginning of 2015. I happened to come across the Facebook page of someone who had graduated from my high school who was currently on The World Race. Scrolling through the pictures and post, my heart started racing and I finally felt like I could see the direction God was trying to push me in. I started going down a check list of all of the reasons I was meant for this trip. Everything felt so right. This is where I’m supposed to be.
I think it’s really easy for a lot of us to get caught up in our day to day lives. For me, I use the city to escape. It’s somewhere where no one knows me, yet I can still feel so alive and it’s there where I realize I’m just a little speck on this earth. I find it hard to believe that all 7 billion of us were placed on this earth for no reason. How could we be given such long lives for no purpose or meaning. I’ve always said my biggest fear is living a life for myself. We all yearn for something more and I’m at peace knowing that what I yearn is the spread of love and God’s word.
