Most Educational Week of my Life

I went to Guatemala with high expectations. Our itinerary sounded amazing. What I didn't expect was that the nooks and crannies between the activities on the itinerary was where the real experience happened. I rode in a tuk-tuk for 30 minutes listening to Total Eclipse of the Heart and Time After Time on a continuous loop-- the driver's special mix tape for tourists. I had a good bm on top of a volcano-- still one of my proudest moments. I made new connections with incredible people. I learned that I couldn't get rid of my anxiety by facing my fears, but it also couldn't stop me from seizing amazing opportunities. I gained confidence in my own abilities as a traveler, which inspired me in my international excursions since. Most of all, I learned that people, regardless of language, lifestyle, and location are all just as complexly human as I am. As obvious as this statement seems, it took traveling to a completely different part of the world for me to fully understand it. I grew up more in that week than I did during the rest of my college career. If everyone participated in a trip like this, I truly believe the world would be a better place.