Shelby and the Rainbow Road, Day 7

Somehow I'm back in Lawrence.

The skyline I've grown to love.

The last day was bittersweet for Team Rainbow, although knowing it would be the last morning showering at the Y was a comfort. We met our Rainbow Health Initiative Contact, Billy, at the Global Market for lunch and recap. I chose Asian for lunch, and got a rather remarkable fortune: A four-wheeled adventure will soon bring you happiness. Well would you look at that? It's already come true!

Our last service activity was to drive to different destinations across the city and put up various flyers. Most of them were connected to the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition or the Shot Clinic. I was a bit disappointed that we would not be interacting with people other than each other on our last day, but I did enjoy that we were able to get different views of Minneapolis. I fell in love with Lake Calhoun. I wish we had discovered it earlier in the week.

Flatjay is neither Team Gale nor
Team Peeta. Flatjay is team Ceasar.

With the rest of the evening free, we headed to the Mall of America to watch The Hunger Games and the KU game. Both of these turned out to be excellent; a splendid way to end the week. We arrived back at the Church around midnight, and had planned to get a few hours of sleep and then get on the road by 7 am. However, we decided that we were just too eager to get any real sleep, so we made a last minute decision to go ahead and hit the road. What a great decision that was. It was wonderful to be back in lawrence a little after 8 am. I was able to sleep a bit on the way, but I still feel a little van-lagged (is that a thing? It is now).

Kaitlyn rock chalking up at
BWW at the Mall of America.

It will be nice to sleep in an actual bed tonight, but there is another feeling that came with my return. It's a feeling I've experienced before and have referred to as Post-Conference Depression. Now I realize the wording can be a bit flexible, because I certainly am feeling Post-Alternative Break Depression. My days were full and exciting. I was always doing new things, gaining knowledge, getting that special feeling that comes with helping people. Now I'm back to the same old thing, left with an insatiable craving for a little bit of what I left behind in Minneapolis.

That is the very best thing about an Alternative Break. They instil a craving for service within. Being in an environment that was completely submerged in a service-driven lifestyle, even if just for a week, really does work to change perceptions and goals. I knew this was the goal of the break before I went on it, but I  was not entirely sure about how that goal would be reached, if at all, in myself. I'm very proud to say that I believe my Alternative Break impacted me in an extremely positive and inspiring way. I feel that my passion for equality for LGBTQ communities has been reenergized. I also now know that I must make service an integral part of my life to feel like I am getting the most out of my experiences. I really appreciate the fact that I have had this experience as a Freshman. I still have much time to make decisions to positively impact and maximize my contributions to my community and my world, be it in my daily choices, my next steps, or my future career path.

Thank you to my group for being so wonderful. Adam, Julie, Kaitlyn, Amanda, and Leigh: you guys are great and beautiful people, and I feel honored that I had the chance to work with you and get to know each of you.

A huge thank you to the University of Kansas Alternative Breaks. My Alternative Break has without a doubt been the best thing that has happened to me at KU so far, and I am absolutely confident it will be something I treasure and reference for years to come. It is something that will shape and transform the rest of my KU experience, as well as the rest of my life.