Sonya’s chapped face. A 5 year old girl, happy with everything she had. She barely had anything at all. My 360 Student Travel trip to Peru gave me a chance to see how much of a difference I could make. I thought that by just taking some time out of my day to help others I could help people by giving them things they wouldn’t usually get. But it turned out helping others has impacted me more than I thought it ever would.

Sonya is someone who showed me that it’s not about how much money a person has or how much time one spends doing something; it’s how much effort I could put into what I do that would make the outcome worth every ounce of work. When I got to Peru I was miserable; I swore it was the worst thing I’d ever do, and I anxiously awaited the day I would leave. I complained about the cold showers, the non-existent air conditioning, and the fact that I was literally living in a tree. I had to boil all of the water, and I never knew if there were going to be insects in the food I was eating, so the food worried me. Two weeks into the trip, however, I had already met different people from richer and poorer areas. And I saw the different ways people lived, and I noticed how much happier people were with less, than they were with more. I met children without homes, parents, or an education, yet they were so grateful for the fact that I came to play with them for an hour. They opened my eyes and made me realize how relative problems are. They made me see that I had made a change; even at sixteen, I managed to make countless children smile just by spending some time with them. From that day on, I no longer complained about things I used to prior to my experience in Peru.

I look at life differently and dream of one day going to Africa, to do the same thing all over again. With the countless community service opportunities, South Africa is an extraordinary place, and I know I can start any project I want. Just like the Vulnerable Children Foundation in South Africa, where the town’s children live in a shelter because it’s their only safe place, I want to give children a place to feel safe. I can get the chance to help them by showing them how to brush their teeth, giving them clothes, or teaching them basic math and English. Simple activities like these help a few of the 3.7 million orphans in South Africa. I want to go to a place with intention of making a difference in people’s lives, but leave inspired and changed by the people I thought wouldn’t make a difference in my life. 

I want to be able to inspire people, and give kids something they don’t have; just as Sonya taught me to.
This being said, I recognize my privileges, but I also acknowledge how much I can do with them. I want to give more than I get, and know that I’m doing as much as I can for other people, because privileges should encourage altruism, instead of inhibiting it. Before I met Sonya I thought the relationship between a caregiver and a patient worked only one way, but now I know that it works both At the end of the day a community to me, is one where I give what I can, not expecting or wanting anything in return.