I love people.  I relish an opportunity to connect with people of all types of personalities and experiences.  I love to serve.  I find there is undeniable personable freedom that comes from unselfishly giving able hands and undivided attention to those who have needs and something to say.  My problems seem to dissipate, and life is enriched, when I pour myself into the lives around me.  Anyone reading this, who knows me, knows my life has not been an exemplary devotion of service.  But I find myself in a unique professional situation: unemployed/underemployed; and I have the time and energy to devote to the things that most people dream about.  A day job, or life-job as the current demands indicate, affords no tangible opportunities for a service immersion.  Volunteer Odyssey is going to be one of those rare opportunities in life to actively participate with the community.

I won’t lie, there were some self-motivated reasons at first, to embrace this project.  What a great networking opportunity and chance to be highly visible to employers.  That’s important and I want that.  However, as I think more and more about the week to come, and how I define my life, I realize I don’t want my identity to rest in a job title or salary.  We can all be guilty of it.  Rather than trying to constantly define life, I’d rather just live it with the people around me and bring something to the table.  I look around Memphis and I see this beautiful city with so many beautiful people that have a heart of giving and service and I want to be a part of that.  There is a famous Chinese proverb that eloquently states: “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”  This statement is one of the driving forces behind my desire to participate in the Volunteer Odyssey project.