As I have embarked on this journey for the last 3 months, I think about the people who have got me to where I am right now.
I want to thank the Carpe Mundi program director Hansell Bourden, and the whole Carpe headquarters for adding me as part of the Carpe Diem family. I want to personally say thank you to Hansell for being such a huge support. Thanks for the preparation: Mind, body and soul. Each reading you chose for our PSU classes helped me walk the circle and see all sides of the world before even traveling. I love hearing about your experiences while traveling, and I can’t wait to talk to you about your time in Nicaragua. Thank you for giving me this amazing 3 month opportunity of a lifetime. I thank you for believing in me and my progress in this adventure.
I want to thank my family- especially my grandparents for being the rock through the life I am creating every new day. Thank you for always doing the little things for me. Thank you for filling my stocking at Christmas with stuff I needed for the trip. Thank you for getting me the pink and purple head lamp because you know my favorite color is pink. Thank you for getting the whole family together at the airport despite the time changes. I love you guys so much, it’s pretty hard to express over computer. Can’t wait to hug and kiss you both!
I want to thank my mother for being such an incredibly strong woman. Thank you for allowing me to really grow up on this trip, and teaching me the things I needed to know as a woman over the years. If I have learned one thing from you, it’s to stay strong and positive with whatever God tests us with. You will always be the spirit of the hummingbird, and I just hope you know how much I love you. You will always be such an inspiration to me. Thank you mama.
Thank you Jimmie Lyski for being my best friend in the most craziest and coolest adventures of my life. Thank you for letting me vent, and always helping me see the positive in the rough times. You have taught me that everything happens for a reason and that the only way to get through life is to love the life you live, and live the life you love. Thank you for being so supportive through this whole trip- despite being many miles away from each other. I am thankful for you so much!
Thank you Brooke and Jeremy- my OE leaders- for being the cool and protective siblings I always wished I had. Thank you for always checking in with me and making sure I am being 100% Natty as much as possible. Thank you both for being crazy wonderful and dancing when needed. Some of the best moments on the trip involved being completely embarrassed but then learned to love every moment. Where all of us students were once afraid to just get up and dance, we can all now go into a discoteca and dance like no one is watching. Thank you for taking me seriously and supporting me when I needed it most. Thank you so much for pushing me out of my comfort zone and believing that I can do anything that I work hard for. Brooke- you have been such an amazing female role model that I needed in my life. Thank you for mentoring me throughout the trip, that includes my presentation about womens studies. That was a strong topic, and you helped me tie it down and word it perfectly. Jeremy- Thank you for being the big brother I always wanted. I love our one on one talks, and that amazing moment you helped me cut off the cast. Thank you so much for spending the time and love needed to revise my interview questions. The fact there were so many revisions really just shows the time you put in to help me be the best person I can be! Thank you for always making me laugh when I need it most. One beautiful thing Jeremy and Brooke taught me was to laugh. Sometimes people are just too serious, and what’s that helping? Stress levels and worry lines on one’s forehead? No way! Better to have laugh lines! I love you guys so much! You two are amazing I know you two will make it very far in this world. You will teach other students like me how amazing life is, and to never take it for granted.
Thank you to the amazing students I have traveled with the last three months. To my sisters Caroline, Lucy, Ryan, Amilia (and Brooke). You all have been amazing and I am sad to leave you in a few short days. But know that all of you have a home with me in Portland! I have never been so close to so many girls. despite are little moments of stress and PMS. I love you girls so much and I just think how different it would be with one of you missing. You all have taught me individually different ways of looking at life and walking the circle. To my brothers Damian, Easten, Jordan and Drew. I love ya’ll so much! I love how in touch you all are with the way you feel and you guys are the cool of the group. You always offer that radiation of calm, yet crazy at times. (Jordan- I’m talking about you. You never take a second breath before being the first to jump off the bridge or the giant swing- that I belly flopped on- that was awesome).You guys have become my family through these last three months and I am so appreciative to have met each and every one of you. We all have to meet up within the next couple years and have a reunion! Love you guys so much! Have an amazing time finishing up (or starting) school, and I can’t wait to see where we all end up in 5 years. old and successful. Love you all!