There's something very special about a Rotary Blazer. Maybe it's the overly long torso and awkwardly short arms, or maybe it's the ridiculous signs, photos, and shirt sleeves you have attached to it, but what I really think is that it's the connection it brings on. I've had two amazing experiences from this blazer and both happened within my first week of exchange, but I will share one.
As much as I hate to admit that this happened, as I stepped on to the first plane from Buffalo to head to Switzerland, I broke down. I fell walking onto the plane, I knocked an old man over with my over-sized carry on, I got a first class ticket upgrade...but then got it taken away, and then I got stuck next to a family with three kids. The second I settled into my seat, I lost my mind. Crying, sobbing, regretting getting on, wanting to go home already. I thought I couldn't do it and that I wasn't strong enough. Needless to say, the trip to Atlanta was miserable for me. But something amazing happened in the Atlanta airport.
As I was sitting alone at the gate for the flight that would officially take me out of the country, I spotted another young girl in a Rotary Blazer. All I did was walk up to her, grab her arm, look at her for a minute and say "Oh my god. Me too!" She embraced me with a "You can't miss us in these blazers!" hug. That was all it took to give me the push to get on the plane. Knowing that I was not alone because I had an entire Rotary Exchange family around the world was what gave me strength. When I look at my Blazer, I don't see a silly article of clothing that makes people laugh when you walk through the city, but instead I see eight years of memories from exchange students who have changed my life. And that Blazer is what kept me from wanting to make what would have been the biggest regret of my life.
[Mackenzie Bradley - currently in Switzerland]
