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1. Habitat for Humanity: To be honest, by the time I was giving my confirmation class presentation, I had already participated in my first of four annual trips working for Habitat. But only with a little distance can I realize that they were the first nudge on my journey of self-discovery. Habitat was the first time I ever went into something flat-out dreading it only to come out the other side absolutely ecstatic.

I hated the thought of being sweaty and gross. I hated the thought of sleeping on an air mattress in a school cafeteria for a week. I didn't like the other youth group participants - or to be more accurate, I believed they didn't like me. The trip was something of an eye-opener. The hard work and strenuous conditions bonded our team together; for the first time I was a part of something. Only later can I see these trips for how they really influenced me. They showed me not only that first impressions of people and preconceived ideas about a project are often misguided, but I discovered that I was stronger than I believed.