Seeing the Humanity in Habitat for Humanity by Noah

Seeing the Humanity in Habitat for Humanity by Noah - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

“Don’t worry, you’ll be a pro in no time!” said our group’s leader. For us struggling to master the work, especially in the scorching New Orleans sun, it sure didn’t seem that way. It was baffling to us that something seemingly so simple as hammering a nail into a wall could prove so difficult. As time wore on, I eventually got the hang of it. I ended up soaked in sweat from the hours spent outdoors hammering nail after nail. At the end of day one, we were all ready for a much-needed dose of air conditioning, but we knew our labor-filled day was well worth the effort.
We were supposed to go to an island. Poolside drinks, sprawling golf courses, and beautiful views was the usual plan for winter break. Then, after an email entered my inbox about a Habitat for Humanity trip helping in New Orleans for a week, my friends and I jumped at the opportunity to join the other teenagers who would embark on this journey to help those in need. My first reaction was “They still need help down there? But Katrina was so long ago!”. The next morning, everything changed.
As we drove from our hotel to the site of our day’s work, I noticed that we were no longer in the glitzy, bright, New Orleans I had seen until then. Numerous houses on every street were either in shambles or in complete ruins. This was the moment when it hit me. When natural disasters are occurring, everyone is quick to aid the victims in the immediate aftermath, but there are those who are in dire need of help years after the disaster struck. Although Katrina was what seemed like ages ago, its effects were still being very much felt to this day, and it is up to us to aid the victims. What I realized was that people are eager to help in emergencies, but their enthusiasm lessens when the state of emergency becomes the status quo. I set off for our first day of work with this motivational fire burning inside of me, so the countless failed attempts to quickly master the art of hammering were indeed frustrating, but the satisfaction that it gave me to complete the work and know that it was I who had done it, was one of the most rewarding experiences I ever had.
I always wondered where I first gained a strong desire to help others in need, and I believe I have my answer. When my uncle was in college, unfortunately he had an accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Throughout my childhood, visiting him left a powerful impression on me. Knowing someone that has such a difficult life but day in and day out is joyous and hardworking is truly a life changing experience to see. If my uncle could be this happy and put in so much effort into what he does, I should live even happier and work even harder. This way of thought gives me strength when I have a difficult task at hand or if I am upset about unimportant minutiae. These visits also ingrained in me how it is imperative for us to help those in unfortunate situations in any way we can, and that is just what I did for those hot days in New Orleans 2017.