By Jose Castillo
This isn’t so bad, I thought to myself as I smeared the drywall primer across the wall.
It was a Monday morning. Hurricane Harvey had just struck Houston, and I spent a whole week at home laying in bed, eating junk food. Now it was time for school, though. “Do I have to? Today’s not even real school!” I complained to my mother as I got ready.
Before resuming school on Tuesday, every student at Chinquapin was asked to come that Monday. The goal was to fix a few of the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey. Those who had experience were asked to help mud and paint the classrooms. Those who did not were asked to help out with any other task needed.
Our director chose me as one of the few kids with “experience,” primarily because I participated in a week-long community service that helped with hurricane relief. What she didn’t know was that I had spent the whole week scraping tiles off of floors. I hadn’t the least clue about mudding walls.
When I got there, I was given what I thought to be a bucket of white paint and a spatula. My initial reaction was to paint the walls, but then a teacher came and explained that I only had to cover any holes or uneven areas.
Throughout that whole morning, I had been upset that I had to go to school, but as I made my way to the other end of the wall, that anger faded. I remember thinking to myself, this isn’t so bad.
It was at that point that my project was conceived. Several thoughts rushed into my head after those initial four words: I wouldn’t mind doing this all week. I wonder how many people were hit by Harvey? Maybe I should volunteer on the weekends. It will be like last year. Maybe I can invite some friends to tag along. I should make this my project!
For the rest of the day, I thought about revolving my project around Harvey. It was an ambitious project. I was passionate about the work. It was relevant to the needs of my community. I could help others in an impactful way. It was perfect.
For these reasons, I decided to create an alternative spring break. I knew my project would be demanding, both in terms of time and work. As I outlined each step, I began to realize how much I would have to do. That didn’t matter, though. As I thought of all the good my project would bring, I thought to myself, this isn’t so bad.
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