I just wanted to take the time to send a huge shout out to my friends and family back in the states whose love and support means so much to me. To my crazy parents who let their fifteen-year-old daughter go to Cambodia five years ago, thank you. It was that experience that began to shape so much of who I am and what I want to do with my life. And thank you for then letting me travel to India the following year (and then letting me go off on my own for a week), it was that experience that solidified my passions and life path. I’m not sure where I would be without those amazing experiences. My gratitude for your confidence in me and in what I want to do is something that cannot be expressed in words and your unconditional support when I decided to spend the year abroad in developing countries is not something many other kids get. You knew that this was my passion, something that was so important to me - and it was never questioned. Thank you to my friends, too for being so supportive of me on this expedition. I love the constant reminders that you are thinking of me and that you are invested in my journey. I so appreciate that you know me so well that there was no question as to why I wanted to do this. Everyone on this trip is so lucky to have the opportunity to be here and to have people back home that support them. But there are also many times they talk about all the people they know who questioned them and who couldn’t understand why they would want to spend a semester in Africa of all places. To all those close to me (and even those who support me from afar), you probably don’t realize it, and to be honest I didn’t either for a while, but your unconditional support is truly unusual and only reminds me (amongst a million other reasons) why you are all so important to me. I apologize for this super sappy post, but I just wanted to take a moment reflect on how lucky I am and recognize that if weren’t for you all I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.
AuthorAmerican University Student studying abroad in Kenya and India and wandering the world Archives
May 2015
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