The insatiable urge to don the spandex and clip in as one of the prophets of the bike rolling across the country,pedaling out a form of new personal volunteerism, an altruistic abdication of one's home for the shelters of grace afforded by the hearts of those met on the road, came about as a butterfly's cocoon evolves into a butterfly. Having seen brochures and scrolling websites, I encountered the people that walked out of the pictures and grabbed me by the shoulders, euphorically praising the Bike and Build experience, extoling its effect. As an already extraordinarily energetic person, the passion that engulfed me as I listened to the alumni's stories was irrefutable and pervasive. It soon came to be that the only way I could be happy this summer would be if it were spent building homes in a transcontinental bike ride.
As a graduate of the University of Virginia, anthropology and english have been my delectable delights, time consuming and mind expanding. While college was marvelous in it's transformative powers, I seek to step out of the spotlight of personal agenda and rather shine a light on the rest of the world and meet the people of the USA and meet them in a humble way, through service. My passion is otherness and I so desire to know the difference that ripples out across the country, creating the weave of humanity that holds tight and fast when peace and love of others style the masterpiece that is life. Volunteering has been a life long priority of mine and now as I culminate four years of self improvement, I would like to spend this summer intensely dedicated to the other and doing all that I can to serve them.
I find the mode of travel, the bike, to be the perfect compliment to the mission. My home will be the heart of the other that will shelter me in welcoming love and compassion as I work to build a home with the love and grace I have been shown. Just as the wheels of the bike spin, I will be part of the cycle of communitas, the revolutions of love, grace and empathy that move society towards a rejunvenating sublimity.
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