Turning a dream into reality

Everyone has daydreams of what they could be doing. Traveling around the world, knowing people across the globe, creating long-life friends, experiencing adventures that are unique, learning new skills, ... The crazy thing is that Up with People gave me all of this. Time has become relative, I have done more in a semester than otherwise I would do in several years. Give me a category of stories and I bet you that I can give you one. Either doing volunteer work in the slums of Manila and realizing what an impact you can have by reaching out. Or performing for 12.000 people in an arena in Germany and seeing the flashes go off. Or having a deep conversation with a host family that last for hours and helped me reshape our perspectives on the world. Or joking around with friends and suddenly realizing they are all from different countries and it does not matter. Or having a workshop with the whole cast and experience new cultural perspectives that blow my mind. Or performing in front of the Pope in front of the Vatican. Or meeting a president. Or seeing the growth in everyone around me from week to week. And the list goes on. Words such as life-changing are often misplaces, but for this organization I can guarantee you it is correct. It has changed my life for the better. And the great thing is that the effect lasts, because you get to keep the friends.