Losing yourself to find yourself

On my first summer as an official adult,I had exactly the same goals as every young person: work on my tan,meet new people and be out as much as possible.However,I went about it differently than most and combined this with contributing to a community and a noble cause,resulting in some of the best moments of my life.
Archelon is an organization that operates in Greece and aims to protect the nearly extinct sea turtles.Volunteers come from all over the world,and we all lived in a camp in Zakynthos.It was a charity project,which meant we were living in simple conditions.
Living away from “civilization” changed me.It was like a cleansing for the soul;things that I worried about every day,didn’t matter there.
Work was great. The “nightshift” was the hardest but the most fascinating one,as well.We’d spend the night in the various beaches, in the hope to see a turtle going up the beach and nest.Those nights spent in quiet,empty beaches,under the moon,watching and helping turtles nest were magical.However,in popular beaches,their magic was often hindered by running into couples trying to get “intimate”.
Zakynthos is a party resort.Every year we lose more protected beach meters.We can’t do anything about those expanses of unprotected beach,but when someone wanders to our “turf”,we are allowed to kick them out.The reality is we dealt with numerous lovers,skinny dippers and weedsmokers.
Honestly,work was a small part of our day. The rest of the time was free for us to do whatever which,by default,meant relaxing in one of the many poolbars in the Island.
We would often have themed basecamp parties at night.Those nights were the best: dancing,playing and being silly.
Not everything was good,of course.There was the dreaded cooking shift,in which you had to cook dinner for 50 volunteers on a two-burners stove.Sometimes it would be so hot during the day,you couldn’t even think about walking the 10 minutes under the sun to the nearest pool.Everything you owned would be covered in dirt.Sometimes the constant social interaction would drive you insane.
However,you take the good with the bad,and realize that that’s what it makes it an experience.It’s about testing your comfort-zone,and adapting to adverse situations.It’s about knowing yourself by realizing what you are capable of,when some of the things you take for granted are taken away from you.It’s about dismantling yourself and finding out where all the pieces fit.It’s about losing yourself in order to find yourself.