Blog #3 How have you changed as a result of this service trip to Puerto Rico? How will these changes influence your future behaviors and choices?
For me this trip to Puerto Rico was amazing. It allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone and travel to a new land with a group of people. I have never been outside the States and I'm not the best with plane rides so the initial part of the trip was something new to me. But, I felt safe, surrounded by friends and responsible staff. Once we got to Puerto Rico, I saw the lush land and fell in love. To make things better the land was just as beautiful as the people. I had the opportunity to meet so many lovely people who loved their home. They were so conscientious of their land and their fellow neighbors. It felt like a real-life version of Mark 12:31 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". Even though I was not apart of the culture I felt like I was at home. Never did I feel judged or looked down upon, I just felt like a person. This mentality and this community feeling is something that I wanted to bring home to the States. We live in the Northeast where everything is fast pace and you could really care less what the person next to you is doing because you have your own things to do. That is honestly really sad. There are so many individuals out there who are having bad days and a little bit of honest love from a fellow human would make all the difference. I already think that I am a loving person but I really want to emphasize this approach.
Another thing that influenced me on this trip was the day that we met with the young people at El Nido. It was a powerful thing to see young people our age gathering to help their fellow people. It was something that we do not see very much in the States. Obviously, in Bonner, we have the opportunity of a lifetime to work with well-established nonprofits and organizations that were built to address a need. But, in terms of seeing young people actually out there working in a rare thing. So much so that when you do see someone doing something they have to be honored, like its the bes thing ever. Which is not bad but it goes to show how little of this we see. We talked about this in one of the reflections where Raj was talking about how he is the youngest person usually out there in the community and attending meetings. As well as how he said that we would like to see younger people involved. This is definitely something that I wanted to do not only in Trenton but in my own area. I like 15 minutes from Philadelphia and Camden. I am sure that they have many initiatives and people who are gathering and being engaged in their own community. Seeing the young people at El Nido inspired me and made me more conscious of taking that time outside of my "busy" life to help my fellow humans. This is something that I have become privy to over the past couple of days, as well as the trip, is that life is so short. I often find myself saying "ah I'll see that person later or I'm too tired to do that one thing". This is not to say that I should jump at every chance to hang out or experience something. But, instead of to take more time out which I feel that I am not.
This trip has opened my mind to so many new and beautiful things. I learned to be more conscientious of our land for it is alive just as we are, even more loving, and have more gun-ho to go out and experience/be apart of something great. I will forever be grateful to Sebastian, Merlyn, Kendall, Blake, Althia, Sam and Raj for this experience. I felt safe, loved, and supported throughout the entire trip. This environment helped me gather and experience so much in this trip in which I am grateful.
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