GIVE Hawaii

This was probably the most motivational, inspirational, and fun trip I have ever been on. I was 17 when I went on my trip to Hawaii with Give and my mom and I were both nervous since it was a program we didn’t know much about and it was my first time traveling solo. First of all the staff was extremely helpful, they were amazing at reassuring my mom and I that it was a safe trip and if she needed to contact me she could directly through me or through the guides. My flight to Hawaii was delayed so I had to call the staff and let them know I’d be an hour late and they were right on top of it, they were comforting and said it was ok and they’d let the guides in Hawaii know I was going to be late. The trip itself was amazing, I was in a group with 20 other people my age and it was extremely fun and moving. We all became best friends very quickly and even a year later we still all text almost everyday! The projects we worked on were super hands on and a great learning experience. My favorite was when we worked in the fish ponds. We pulled out invasive California grass and evern though it was hard work and I got scratched up pretty bad, it was the best experience of my life and I think about it almost everyday and wish I could go back to that moment! The bonding that happens on the car rides between projects and moving to different housing locations was probably the most fun!! Especially the gas station stops hahah. Overall this was the most amazing trip I have been on and I plan on going on another one soon!