I have been LOST-ed

Sitting here on an island watching a show about people who have found their plane wrecked on an island is a bit surreal. As this is the eve of the LOST series finale I could not help but acknowledge it. It’s hard to believe the show is coming to a close. How do you end one of history’s most epic television series? How will it all end?




There are so many well thought out theories on the web that I don’t even feel capable of contributing my own. I will say though that what LOST has represented to me is a moving story about a group of strangers who sometimes get along and sometimes don’t, but through their attempt at survival get to know each other. With each episode we’ve gained a little more insight into Kate, Hurley, Jack, Sawyer etc. The back stories often lead to explanations of how complicated any one person can truly be, not to mention the events that made said person to be the person that we meet today.

This evening Sarah (poor Sarah has been subject to my Lost obsession since we arrived to St. Lucia) and I watched the first episode of LOST which aired on ABC for preparation for tomorrow’s big night event (some 5 hours + of LOST viewing). To revisit these characters’ first meeting was rather neat. It actually reminded me of a Sunday evening almost a year ago within the brick walls of Sturgis when the Clinton School of Public Service class of 2011 met together for the first time during orientation.

I remember being a bit nervous but curious that day as I was about to meet the 35 classmates who would be part of my life for the next two years. We filed in one by one and were handed a packet of things and were asked to sit in alphabetical order. Being a "W" I sat between David Watterson and LaTonya Wilson. What great people to sit between! While we were waiting to get things started I made an observation with Watterson about how similar our last names are (weird) and asked LaTonya about Little Rock. Then to introduce ourselves we were asked to state our name, what areas of public service we were interested in, and what brand of toothpaste we use.

And one by one we answered/introduced ourselves. There were normal answers, quizzical answers (some didn’t even know what toothpaste they even used) and funny answers. That moment set the foundation which we would later build upon and get to know each other beyond toothpaste preference. Like rewatching the first episode of Lost, I wish I could revisit that day by watching it on youtube or hulu. (However hulu is blocked here in St. Lucia so even if that were magically on hulu, I wouldn't be able to catch it.) We’ve come a long way since then, and it’s only just getting started.

Feel free to peruse the sidebar on the right to read my classmates’ adventures on their service projects all over the world. From Peru to San Antonio, Uganda, China and Australia – they are doing some pretty spectacular things. I'm proud of each and every one of them. ; )

Chaaaaaaaaaaaalooooooooopa!