When I was 12 years old, I went on a mission trip with my church to the Dominican Republic. At that time, I didn’t know that my life was going to be completely changed. I didn’t know what to expect in the Dominican Republic. I was young, naive, and totally clueless of the world beyond the United States. I knew that spanish was the primary language spoken in the Dominican Republic; therefore, I studied hard prior to this trip. When my group and I arrived, we rode in a bus to take us to our camp. On the ride to our camp, I was observing the streets. The streets were filled with trash, rocks, and a bunch of other debris. The people of the Dominican Republic were thin, hungry, and just miserable-looking. I’ve never seen such remorseful faces in my …show more content…
With the spanish language barrier, Ren and I were not able to communicate properly. However, we would often communicate through body language, hand signals, or facial expressions. In time, we became very good friends. A week has passed and Ren introduced me to some of her siblings, close friends, and some neighbors. As I was observing Ren with her friends, I noticed something very interesting. Ren was smiling, laughing...and living with her loved ones. I didn’t understand how it was possible. She didn’t have a family of her own, was disabled, and was living in a mess. It sincerely touched my heart. Everyone has their own source of happiness and Ren’s source was from her friends and family. Some people are happy with their friends, some people are happy with money, some people are happy with cats...the possibilities are endless. Although this relates to happiness, I broaden the aspects and took the ideas a step further. Every being in this world can improve themselves in their own unique ways. Just like how people have their own sources of happiness, students have their own ways to expand their thinking, skills, knowledge, and