It is Friday. I'm on my way to this place, somewhere in New England. It is getting dark. I've been in this unknown gray car for the past hour or so. At least that's what I think. The road seems endless and the dark of the sky has made me restless. I’m tired and sleep is my only desire. There’s not any sign of arrival and I don't see people. All I can see is a trip that is supposed to last a weekend but its destination looks longer than the cold in New England.

We’re passing by Groton, MA and our stomachs start roaring like fasted lions. We are four collegemates in an unknown town looking for something to eat. We asked and we got guided to this pizza place called Bruno’s Pizza. It is a small place that is about to make us happy for about the next 40 minutes. It is 6:30 pm and I can smell the pizza coming from the inside of this place. It smells nice! (I tell myself). We walk in and it is a really nice Italian restaurant. Well, it was more like a small dining, that one like the Salem Diner. We are happy to have found this place to eat in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Massachusetts. They have a big menu never ever since in such a small place like this one. It was almost as long as the wall where it was hanging on. The food was ordered and after 20 minutes of waiting, which felt like an eternity, the food arrives. Impatiently, without letting it get to the table, our eyes took the first bites leaving almost nothing left.

It was 7:10 pm when the darkness was still covering us, when the road seemed endless, when the car was moving; it was 7:10. The trees have lost their greenness and their leaves have adopted new features waiting for their fall and leaving their houses behind. The blue moon made it seem otherwise. 

Driving is Mollie who has not shown signs of tiredness but who is kept awake by Rachel’s conversation in the passenger seat. Mollie is by far the sweetest and nicest person I’ve ever known. Her heart is as good as a strawberry birthday cake, which everyone gets a slice from and every bite brings the desire of another bite. Red-haired girl, white-skinned, beautiful eyes, God-believer, incredible soul. She is the reason for us being in this car going to an unknown place; a place that would be recorded in our memories forever. 

It was 7:30 when what looked and felt like an infinite drive was in front of our eyes. It is dark so I cannot tell what the place looks like. All I know is that this place is in the middle of nowhere; where screams cannot be heard and where the internet does not help. This created dark thoughts inside of my head. Thoughts related to those TV shows that my high school friends and I used to watch every night about groups of people going on trips to houses in the middle of the woods being attacked by strangers or serial killers, sometimes by supernatural creatures. It makes me scared and reminds me of this specific movie on Netflix called “Hush,” where this deaf writer retreats into the woods to live a solitary life where a masked killer appears in her window and she has to fight for her life. Trying to fade these thoughts away, I start thinking about the good memories my friends and I had during high school. I feel nostalgic. 

We parked. I just needed a stretch after an endless drive that had ended. The breeze feels good, the moon is looking at me, the stars welcome us. The air announced the call of a new experience that was waiting for us. We register at the front table and everyone seems nice. There are at least 20 more people registering at the same time as us. That’s what I thought. Me and my friend Brian, who I met during my spring semester 2019, enter together. He is funny and we have become close friends. The drive made us closer. His presence meant a lot to me because another guy was needed in the group. There are eight other girls in our group and I was going to be the only guy if Brian wouldn't have come. I convinced him to come on the trip. I guess it worked.

As we are entering, I tell him, “Come! Let’s keep moving. Let’s look around.”

We walk into the common room/dining hall. Our eyes open very wide and our faces show signs of impression. I tell him, “That is a lot of people in just one room. Mesmerized he answers, “I never expected we would be spending the weekend around this many people.

There are 200 people in this room. They are all chatting with one another. The last time I recall seeing this many people together was for my ServeUp Puerto Rico trip, wait…, not even, they were less than this. Everyone just looks so friendly and as if they know each other before. The truth is, they are all from different colleges and universities all around New England and they are not more than strangers. We are not more than 200 strangers in this place, somewhere in New England.

The first thing we do as we approach this table full of strangers is a name tag; something that would make this process of meeting new people easier. I'm so bad at names. Tell me yours and I will probably forget it in less than five seconds. My mind is afraid of them; it cannot hold names for long just as Dory, from “Finding Nemo,” cannot retain information. Ohh! what a good movie! (I tell myself). I recall this being my all-time favorite movie. I just loved how Nemo got lost and his father, Marlin, accompanied by Dory went out looking for him, facing and overcoming all the challenges experienced throughout the journey. It was a gathering excuse for me and my friends at my uncle’s house. Can't forget those times!

“ANT.” This is what you can read from my name tag. ANT for several reasons. ANT is a short way for “Anthony.” ANT is my spiritual animal. ANT is my animal/insect name on Snapchat. Now, everyone knows me by ANT.

It is late. I’ve met some new people who aren't strangers anymore. We go upstairs and sit while this person, who is standing in front of the room, talks to us. Words like “God,” “Jesus,” “Praise,” “Spirit,” “Jesus Christ,” “Brothers and Sisters,” and “Amen,” is all I hear. They are playing some really good worship songs of which I know nothing. My eyes are tied to the screen where I read the lyrics from and pretend I know them. This unknown environment feels good and although being surrounded by strangers, I feel safe.