Discover the world... and yourself!

Up with people is one of the best experiences I ever had.
I wanted to take a gap year after high school to travel and volunteer. Up With People was perfect for that, plus it had the performance part, which truly helped me to make my choice, as music has always been a big part of my life.
I grew in so many ways during my semester at Up With People. To live constantly with 100 others young people from 20 different contries is the thing that impacted me the most. Everyone is different, has different backrounds, different cultures, and still, those 100 strangers become your family, your best friends, even without noticing... until you have to leave them.
The hostfamilies you live with become so important that when you talk about your actual family, you have to mention that it's your REAL family.

It's not easy everyday. Sometimes, being away from home is hard. Sometimes, you have to step out of your comfort zone (like staying in a hostfamily that doesn't speek english, with you not speeking spanish, or gardening by 35°C with HUGE spiders around). But this is how you grow, and be sure that your new friends will be there for you !

Finally, Up With People helped me to know who I really am, who I want to be, what is important for me or not, what are my values, what do I believe in, and what I want to do (or not) with my life.