What can I possibly accomplish this Wintersession that is more productive than eating Nutella and watching Sherlock every day for a month?
During my first semester as a first-year at Wellesley, I was overwhelmed. Searching for something to do over Wintersession was definitely adding to that stress. It seemed like left and right, my peers were lining up internships, jobs, and projects, while I was struggling to keep up with the dining hall schedules. With laundry, classwork, Ultimate Frisbee, and new friends, I didn’t even have time to stop and realize what a routine my life had become.
The college campus bubble is a terrifyingly real problem. As students, we settle into our lives and block out anything that doesn’t seem to directly impact our lives or academic and social success. I noticed that I would read the news about terrible things happening all over the world, yet carry on with my day without truly processing what I had just read. I had begun to neglect anything occurring outside of the 500 acres that make up Wellesley’s campus.
So, it definitely felt like fate that one early morning, while drowsily walking to breakfast, that I read a sign publicizing Alternative Breaks, a program attempting to get more students involved in service over Wintersession and Spring Break. As a student who was exploring pre-med opportunities, the trip going to New York to work with God’s Love, We Deliver, seemed like the perfect opportunity to further confirm my interest in medicine. And the week was truly perfect.
God’s Love is an organization that provides free dietician-approved meals to people all over New York City who suffer from serious afflictions and are in some way incapable of cooking healthy meals for themselves. In the five days we spent working there, we did everything from chopping seemingly endless amounts of onions, to packing over thirty meals a minute, to actually delivering the meals to the client’s homes.
For me, delivering the distinctive brown bags of meals was my favorite aspect of the trip, because not only did I see a completely new perspective of the different boroughs of the city, but also was able to experience first hand the impact that the organization has on the lives of hundreds of people. We were each paired with a driver and a van – that seemed far too large to double park as it did all over the city – and went on their delivery route for a few hours. Each delivery consisted of locating the room, knocking, greeting the client, and dropping off the food. That was it. But each delivery was incredibly impacting. There were moments that were particularly difficult, like certain deliveries with very sick or lonely clients, and some that were cheerful and happy. But all the clients were grateful in an extremely powerful way that we as college students do not often get the chance to experience.
We were fortunate enough to meet with executives from not only God’s Love, but also from Harlem United, an incredible foundation that provides healthcare to HIV+ clients. They answered our many questions and gave us great insight into how these types of organizations sustain themselves and maintain models with such-high standards of quality. Never before had I been given the access to the inner workings of groups of this size and stature, and it was eye-opening to see the huge variety of opportunities available not only in the healthcare field, but to any person who felt a real commitment to helping others.
Besides the volunteering work and satisfying daily reflections, we really bonded as a group. We were of such a variety: from different countries, years, and backgrounds; with different interests and hobbies. But we were all bonded by a motivation to impact others. We got to know each other extremely quickly through our nightly dinner duties, exploring various parts of New York City (like the Fat Cat, a trendy, hipster jazz club with pool and other games), exploring HIV exhibits in the library, playing Taboo, chatting during our hour-long subway commutes, walking around Central Park, and lying in our bunk bed filled hostel room, talking late into the night. Never before had I been more pleasantly surprised by a group of people, and seeing these people around campus has made my second semester so much brighter.
This trip did much more than prevent me from watching Sherlock for a month straight: it quite possibly changed my professional career. Working at God’s Love, surrounded by driven and talented people, I felt a motivation and drive that I hadn’t felt yet at Wellesley, and for that reason alone, if not for every other wonderful aspect of this trip, I whole heartedly recommend participating in an Alternative Break. There is so much variety in the places one can volunteer through this program, but no matter what interests anyone has, I think that these trips help us to break free of the college bubble. And perhaps, one day soon, you’ll find yourself holding hands with a group of eleven new friends, ice-skating in Central Park, determined to make some change in both the world and your life, happier and more satisfied than you’ve been in a long time.
-Shreya Thatai ’17
If you enjoyed reading about Shreya’s Alternative Break experience and are interested in this movement, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved! We are currently accepting applications for the leadership positions of Coordinator and Site Leader through MyCWS. No previous Alternative Break experience is required for either of these positions, although familiarity with community involvement and demonstrated leadership abilities are strongly preferred. Applications are due April 22th. We will also be accepting applications for trip participants in the fall, so be on the look out for that next year! Please visit the Alternative Breaks website for detailed position descriptions and more application information: http://www.wellesley.edu/cws/serves/AlternativeBreaks. Questions? Email us @ wellesleyalternativebreaks@gmail.com