My Journey To Guatemala

Education to me is not sought solely through the quantitative knowledge that my teachers lay before me on a daily basis, but in my opportunities to travel and discover new ways of thinking. Coming from a culturally diverse background, my mother being Latina and my father being Filipino, I have been fortunate to be immersed in both cultures. As a rising sophomore, my parents allowed me to travel to Guatemala independently and stay with relatives. Traveling itself does not make you more educated; education comes from being open to new ideas and reevaluating your thoughts and actions because of the new cultural experience. After arriving in Guatemala it became abundantly clear that there were two scenarios in which my trip would occur: 1. I could succumb to

Although it was tempting to relax instead of attending school, I chose the latter option so that I could immerse myself in the language, increase my fluency in Spanish, and spend the remaining two weeks observing Guatemalan culture and traditions through touring different parts of the country. I did not want to waste this unique opportunity sitting on a beach; I wanted to better understand the cultural components of my family and learn through experiences. Thus, I stepped out of my shy comfort zone and entered into an all-girls school in Guatemala City where I learned from my peers that it is more important to form relationships than solely be preoccupied with artificial numbers such as an ACT score or GPA. After my schooldays I would take the time while traveling back toward home to stop at an orphanage a family friend owned. Here I learned the appreciation of love. I formed a bond with a 4 year old girl who had been in the orphanage since she was only a few months old. She taught me that you don’t need to be well educated to teach, all you need is compassion and the ability to connect with