My Trip to Neon, Kentucky

In my young and callow life, I always saw the United States as an honorable homeland revolving around the economy, and a place where people flourished in all walks of life. I believed this until it came time to board a big bus, bound for the copious mountains of Appalachia. I knew that I was going to be assisting in the construction of residences for the people of Eastern Kentucky, but I was not expecting any amazing realizations or changes in my own character. Little did I know that my whole future was about to change, from the moment my sneaker hit the Kentucky soil.

I arrived with my church group after a twenty-hour bus ride through the transition in terrain between New England and Appalachia. I could see the enthralling forestation, as well as the impoverished community that was going to be helped, but there didn’t look to be much hope for the area. My perception of the world was beginning to change already, and I hadn’t even been off the bus for more than a minute.

There was a full week ahead of me, to embrace the culture and to assist people in the area, who were in desperate need of some financial help. I wasn’t sure how useful I was going to be since I was a small and skinny young man at the time. The work that week involved intense manual labor, and by the end of each workday, my body was a limp rag-doll, almost unable to pick up my own legs to climb atop my rickety bunk bed.

However, after attending a service at a nearby church on Sunday morning, my realization was able to fully develop and my character started to change. The church congregation was a mere 20-25 people, but each and every person was incredibly outgoing, and the beaming smiles on their faces alluded to the appreciation they had for the work we were doing to help the local community.

After the week had come to a close, and the duffle bags were being hurled onto the bus once again, I felt closer to some of the people in Neon, Kentucky than I did to friends in my own school. Between sharing riveting stories about our own lives, to just letting each other know that we would keep them on our minds, I realized that I didn’t just help a struggling community in Appalachia. They also helped me to discover the true compassion and meaning worth living for in life, and for that, I was beyond grateful.

Following the trip, I found myself reaching out to others in more ways than I had been prior to the experience. I continually believe that I can make a bigger and better influence in people’s lives, whether I knew them personally or not. The trip assisted me in finding a positive way to look at every decision that I will have to make, and will ultimately help me in the future.