Sunsets Mean New Beginnings

Outer Journey

standing at our favorite place

Today is the day that has seemed to come too soon. I fell like I was just on the train 24 hours ago only getting a wink of sleep and thriving off gross coffee. As a class we all met in front of Café de Monte and said our goodbyes to this amazing city that has brought life to otherwise dead nursing students. Kate, Brynna, and I walked to our favorite spot to document a picture of us in front of the building. We all chose the Presbyter as our favorite place of this whole trip. I would say that this was my favorite place because that is where we learned some deep information about the city. It was where the Katrina exhibit was that brought goosebumps to my skin and tears to my eyes. It made me feel for this city and to be able to experience how they have flourished from this tragedy made me feel so right at home. I would most definitely come back to this museum because Colleen did mention that there were some new things added and even though I took the time to go through it, I feel as though I could have listened/read a lot more due to the building being so full of information. I would recommend this site to anyone coming to New Orleans or the area. It is so informational and helps you understand the city and their strong drive to thrive. I would explain to those coming to visit of how the acoustics, videos, pictures, and real-life stories really make you feel as though you were there. Coming from Illinois most of us have never experienced a hurricane or even any type of big natural disaster, so this experience was a good way to understand it and what NOLA went through. I would explain this to others as a humbling and breathtaking exhibit. We don’t know anyone in the videos or recordings, but you feel like you do when you hear it. The Presbyter exhibit has a way of making you feel that it is real, and you are just hearing the news that you and your family need to evacuate. Truly a chilling and educations experience. 

Inner Journey 

As I sit in the observation car in the train and watch the sun run through the trees, I can’t help but reflect on what a great trip this was. I honestly thought I wouldn’t learn much and that this trip would be sort of boring in the education aspect, but it surprised me. I never thought I wanted to know about New Orleans’ history and hardships, but I am so glad that I did. I would have been 8 years old when Katrina hit, so I have only heard stories of how bad it was. Seeing the city and this exhibit made me feel like it just happened last week. It felt so real to me. This kind of experience contributed to my favorite part of the trip.

My favorite part of this short trip would have been learning about the rich history and how this city was shaped. We learned about the many firsts of New Orleans such as the first apartment buildings, the first pharmacy, women and free people of color having certain rights, and their amazing culinary contributions to the world. This was my favorite because without New Orleans paving the way for these historical markers, who knows where we would be today. This also was my favorite part of the class. We were only there for a week, but I expanded my knowledge in ways I never thought I would. I am not much of a history person, but this trip was so interesting to me and makes me want to learn about each state in the US.

Getting one last PJ's coffee

One of my goals for this trip was to step outside of my comfort zone. I learned that this can come easier to me than I thought when I am in the right environment and people. This week I had an amazing group of girls to tag along with and even made some new friendships along the way. It can be out of my comfort zone to talk to people and go do things in unfamiliar places, but I didn’t feel hesitant in New Orleans. I learned that I just need to go out and do things. Letting my fear of judgement or unfamiliar places can hinder my growth as a person and I don’t want to let fear get in my way anymore. While on this trip I got a call that I was offered two jobs I applied for last week and I accepted one of them. This new journey scares the absolute daylights out of me but using what I have learned about myself this week I am going to use my fear to fuel my growth in this new career. As the sun is setting outside the train window my mom’s favorite saying comes to mind: “sunsets are for new beginnings tomorrow”.