Devin in LA: closing one chapter and begininng another.

My adventures at City Year Los Angeles officially ended on Thursday, June 17. Having completed 1700 hours in 10 months serving the city of LA, I have survived my first service year! Yes, I said first. I decided I'm not ready to kick my addiction to service and philanthropy quite yet. Next month, I will be doing a second year of service with AmeriCorps, working as a Volunteer Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C.

What a ride it has been. I cannot say that enough. On my first day, they told me, "this year will be hard, tough, and rewarding." It was that and sooooo much more. Initially I assumed I would impact the lives of so many people and those results would be tangible. Instead, I was blind-sighted by how much my life was impacted by others. And trust me, there were moments when I wanted to throw in the towel. But someone once told me that if it's not a struggle, you're not growing. I've grown so much as an individual, built amazing friendships, created memories I will never forget, and learned so much more about myself and others. It's such an amazing feeling to have come this far in such a short time.

Thank you to anyone who has ever read or commented on any one of my blog posts, provided me with a piece of inspiration, let me vent when I was angry and frustrated, or told me they were proud of me. It means the world to me and I am a better person for it.

This is my last blog post on "Devin in LA" so thank you for taking this journey with me. I'll leave you with some photos from my service year: