I did something that I care about!

I have been battling to find what I truly care about. It seems like it should be pretty easy to know what you are passionate about, but it has been (and still is) an on-going process. Maybe I have been going about this the wrong way. Maybe passion is something that happens naturally, and no amount of brain power can change that.

Its excites me to say that I spent time yesterday picking up trash at one of my favorite places in the world, Lake Martin. It wasn’t until my gloves were moist and there was garbage swamp juice on my jeans that I truly realized how much I care about cleaning up the place that has produced so many great memories.

On top of that, this day of swamp care kind of just happened naturally.

Earlier in the week on my way to work, the idea to clean up the lake hit me in a very realistic way. Instead of just having the thought that it would be really nice to help clean up at the lake, I actually texted a few of my friends to see if they would be down.

Their responses made me so proud. They all gave me an enthusiastic yes! Of course my friends would be willing to spend the early part of their Saturday to help with a good cause.

I’ve got some good friends.

Wait.
People have confirmed.
This is really happening.

So about 10 people are coming to help, but I really don’t have any experience organizing a clean-up effort. So I did what anyone in this situation would do…I googled it.

Google Search: “What do I need to clean up the lake?”

1. Volunteers – check.
2. An enthusiastic leader – oh lord that’s me. okay check.
3. Supplies (trash bags, gloves, etc) – gotta go to Walmart.
4. Map of the area – nah lets just wing it. I am sure we can figure it out.
5. Water – check.

After going to Walmart to buy the gloves and trash bags, I realized that we need some type of stabber to get the trash that is out of reach. So naturally I went into my garage to see what I had.

I immediately spotted makeshift perfection. 2 gig poles that we use in Grand Isle to get flounder. These will do.

Saturday morning hits.

Last night was roughhhhh. I did some regrettable things. But there was no time to recover. Keisha and them will be over in 20 minutes. I gotta shower and get everything ready.

I wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of last night. Everyone arrived hungover lol.

It’s one thing to wake up early on a Saturday to pick up trash. It’s another thing to do it while fighting a hangover. This just goes to show the will of all the people who came to help. Again, major shout out.

We pull up at the lake. 3 vehicles deep. Squaded.

Lets do this.

First thing we do is open the back of my truck to get the supplies. Turns out that the water cooler that Chad was in charge of fell over and completely spilled.

Chad had one job.

We informally break up into groups and start walking the path. It was truly astonishing to see the amount of trash people just throw on the ground. I still can’t believe that people to this day willingly litter, especially at a beautiful place like Lake Martin.

The group found beer bottles, styrofoam cups, candy wrappers, soda cans, fishing tackle packaging, and even an iPhone (to name a few).

I would say that we were out there for about 3 or 4 hours. We collected about 12 trash bags full of garbage, and we only covered about 25% of the walking path.

Not only was it great to have a day at the lake focused on cleaning, but it was awesome to be with a group of people who had a common goal. On that day, every individual cared about the well being of Lake Martin.

We all broke a sweat, laughed, and had a great time together. It was a special experience.

I can’t wait to do it again!

Thanks for reading.