My biggest fear going into this trip is breaking out of a shell. America is that shell. It's time for me to wake up, open my eyes, and step outside of that shell and experience sacrifice, hope, and love. During this trip I'm afraid of living the real world. I'm now preparing myself for this amazing experience and preparing to find sacrifice, hope and love in not only the children and people of the school but also in myself. It's time for the turtle to break out of its shell and find the ocean. Diving into the ocean is just like diving into my fears and experiencing the real world. Without my mommy and daddy there to guide me the whole way.
     I think that some challenges that I will face will be just opening my eyes and experiencing the home visits. I think I will learn from that by just helping an elder cross the street, or giving a homeless person my left overs from after my meal. Just the little things that spark kindness around the world. That's what I noticed what this program is all about, finding the goodness down at the very bottom of your heart. The small things for you could be a huge thing for someone else. I also think that a challenge is going to be the blogs. I'm not the kind of person who always needs my mommy and daddy right by my side but I am the kind of person who worries about what's going to happen while I'm gone. While I'm in Nicaragua I think when I'm adding on to my blog it's going to make me feel like since they'll be reading it, it makes them closer. I think I will learn by that is being more independent and doing more activities on my own that will keep my mind occupied with the other things that have to get done not the voices in my head saying, "Did the house catch on fire? Is Kenai (my dog) ok?" Just the simple stuff like that gets me really nervous, but after this trip I will learn that there are other things to worry about at that moment.
   I think that this experience will help me change because I have never been on a trip like this, never been to a disabled child's house or never repaired a school. This will help me change because when I go back home I will realize that the people in where we live are rich, snooty and don't appreciate what they have. I will change and appreciate what I have. Sterling is 7th grader at my school he has a disease called Cereal Palsy, a lot of the kids in my school take him for granted. Kids see him as a messed up kid who doesn't know anything, that's really sad. He's a really nice human being who 
learns just like any other student. Not only do I see him as my friend but I see him as an amazing person. Here is a kid who is going to get bullied for the rest of his life because of his appearance, and the other day I saw him walk onto the bus. He had some help but this boy has had to use a walker for his whole life just moved his legs up the stairs with his hand on the railing. That's amazing. I think when the students at my school saw him do that it changed there perspective on Sterling. While were at the school in Nicaragua and we can help at student do something like what Sterling did, it will not only change the students life it would change my life forever.