Lessons Learned
The other day I was sitting on the shuttle thinking about a topic for English. As I sat on the
clean, and comfortable shuttle I had a flashback of me sitting on a small, cold, crowded
bus holding a 5 year old boy with cerebral palsy in my arms. As I looked at him I realized
that in that moment my life had been changed. Actually… Every moment I spent at the
children’s hospital in Peru changed my life. I don’t know if many of you can say that you
wake up every morning and feel empowered but I can. Peru has made me a stronger and
much more grateful person.
I know you are thinking, “how could one week in Peru change your life?” Well picture
this… My day consisted of mending broken hearts, wiping away painful tears and
encouraging children to get up in the morning and be somebody great even though their
lives were anything but great. I bonded with these 50 children in ways that are
indescribable. They taught me to be thankful for my life and I learned that even the
greatest hardships can be overcome if you believe in yourself. I saw children walk for the
first time without a cane, witnessed a boy that was legally blind play the guitar and
watched a boy eat, write and clean with his feet. There was a girl fighting for her life
battling cancer and there was not one second that she did not have a smile on her face. She
