On a scavenger hunt, finding myself

[Photo: A participant submitting a wedding ring for the hunt]

I recently experienced something that made my soul sing and restored my faith in humanity.

Over the past ten years, I went from working over 40 hours a week in a factory, and meeting the demands of being a culinary student, to becoming a partially-disabled person; due to my limited mobility, I had to give up many activities. I needed something to fill in my time, and I stumbled across the television show, “Supernatural.” The theme of this show was right up my alley, dealing with spirits and monsters of the paranormal world.

After following the actors on social media, I learned about the charities they support, including a week-long scavenger hunt now in its sixth year, called the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (GISHWES) – it centers on activities aimed at helping others. It sounded like great fun but I  worried that my mobility issues would make it difficult to take part. Also, although the registration fee was a small amount, I was on a tight budget and could only afford necessities. The organization awards what they call “Gisholarships” to those who need financial assistance. I filled out an application, not expecting much.

I checked my emails often, like a child waiting up all night to catch a glimpse of Santa. Then, I got THE email; someone had granted me a scholarship! My fee had been paid by the kindness of a stranger. This was just the beginning of a week that I will never forget.

The list of activities for the hunt was long, over 170 items. I was assigned to a team with 14 other players from the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Germany, and the USA. There were three local women on the team that I knew from West Michigan, but I didn’t know them well. That changed soon enough.

One of the items on the list was to make someone happy on each of the seven days of the event. I asked to take this on because I knew that by looking for ways to make other people happy, I would shift my focus from looking inward at my physical/mobility limitations, to looking outward at helping someone else.Day two of the happiness challenge happened to fall on the day of my niece’s bridal shower. Many years ago, my mother had given me her original wedding band from 1967. I presented my niece with this ring at her shower, to use as the “something old” during her wedding. I couldn’t even get through explaining what it was before I starting crying, then she was crying, and my mother and sister were crying. It felt so great to make such a big impact on my niece’s special day.

On another day, I met with the local women on my team and we spent the evening working on some tasks for the contest. They asked me if I minded if we took a detour to check out some sunflowers. We were out in the middle of farm country, where I hadn’t been in years. Suddenly, my field of vision was filled with golden light. There were sunflowers as far as the eye could see. The beauty and serenity literally made me gasp. I am an amateur photographer, and saw in that space an overwhelming potential for unbelievable photos. The women had brought along fairy costumes in which to take photos among the flowers, and even I – the least “girly girl” you will ever know – donned the fairy costume. I call my photo “I’m a fairy, damn it.”

• During the week of the contest, I did things I never thought I would:
  I made up and recorded a rap song about my favorite chef, James Beard. (“When it comes to food/there’s nobody greater than this dude/I know it may seem weird/but I really dig James Beard/He had the perfect way/to make a mean soufflé/The mistake most people made/was letting it know that they’re afraid.” )
• I swam in Lake Michigan, after not doing so for over 25 years (even though I live less than 10 miles from the beach).
• I laughed, I cried; I found parts of myself I had forgotten.

Because many of the tasks involved bettering the lives of others, interacting with the other participants recharged my faith in humanity. All teams had set a goal of raising money for two refugee families from Syria. This item was added while we were over halfway through the week. By the time the contest ended, we had raised $200,000 – enough to benefit two additional families. So, while we enjoyed ourselves – some of us even danced with wild abandon, cheering in the vegetable department of a local grocery store wearing a vegetable cheerleading costume, and others jogged in pineapple shoes – and worked as a team, we also changed some lives…including my own.

This piece was submitted as part of the GrokWithUs initiative, designed to highlight the stories and experiences of GrokNation readers.

Angie Berg was born and raised on the shores of Lake Michigan. She came to love and appreciate nature. She is an amateur writer of juvenile fiction and also enjoys photography. She graduated from culinary school at the young age of 45 and lives with her partner of 13 years and their four furbabies.