Growing up in Michigan, all I could ever think about is getting out of that dreary, emotionless state. Seventeen years later, I finally made it out- and I am never going back. As much as I love it here in Blacksburg, my roots in Michigan are what developed me as a person. I grew up in the small town of Rockwood, Michigan, where I found the sense of community. Everyone knew each other, and everybody did their best to support their neighbors. Although my journey here at Virginia Tech is just beginning, I can already see a wealth of opportunities that I did not have back in Michigan. Coming into college at Virginia Tech, serving the community was definitely not the first thing on my mind. I was looking forward to football games, living with no parents, and definitely salivating over our on-campus food. I knew that college was going to be the best time of my life, but I was nervous at the same time because I did not know a single soul in Virginia. Whether I would make friends quickly, or sit in my dorm room twenty-four seven and video call with my dogs would be unknown. However, I was pleasantly surprised on move in day when I was approached by the students in the SERVE community. I was never the most outgoing kid during my years of high school, and I usually found it quite hard to communicate and develop friendships, so when I was welcomed into Pritchard right away, it really gave me a sense of feeling at home. As my first two weeks at Virginia Tech went on, I created friendships with many of the SERVE members, I decided to join SERVE myself. I never did a considerable amount of any community service while I lived in Michigan, but serving with my new friends, along with taking on Virginia Tech’s motto of Ut Prosim gave me a new interest in serving the community. The time I did serve back home was a program through the nursing home where we played games with the elderly and gave them a fun time that they had been lacking in their lives. Aside from this, I also held a job at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport where I worked as a passenger service assistant. Although this was not technically community service because I was getting a paycheck, I loved helping people who could not help their selves. My job was to help disabled passengers get to their destination in the terminal, such as a departing flight, or out to baggage claim. The people I have helped through the two years I worked there have varied from every cultural background, to rich and poor. If my work experience taught me anything, it would be that you truly cannot judge a book by its cover and that money does not make you happy. The best days of work were not when I walked out with over one hundred dollars in tips, but instead the days where I met somebody who I knew nothing about, but learned so much from. For a while, I have missed this feeling, but volunteering in Feeding America brought that feeling back to me recently. Meeting Mr. Andrews was truly life changing, as he talked about how you should not take any day of your life for granted, and how you should learn things every day. My past job was one of the factors that helped to shape me into the man I am today, and volunteering will continue to change me for the better. I believe that helping others in the community is one of the most self-rewarding things you can do. As you are serving and learning about others, you learn more about yourself than anyone. Also, serving brings people together, and you can make some of your closest friends, and connections by helping out. I came to Virginia Tech not knowing what to expect, not knowing how to handle the transition to adulthood, but SERVE and the people I have met so far have made these past two weeks some of the greatest times in my life.