Dia 7: Smiles and Tears!

Hola familias! Our names are Sofia, Danna, Joceline, and Nathaly! We are the final leaders of the day for the JA1D trip. It was a bittersweet day for everyone in the delegation but felt more surreal for us as leaders due to the fact that we are the last. Today was full of emotions, laughs, tears, and overall gratitude for everyone in the villa. 

We were able to express how grateful we are for one another by writing anonymous messages that we may have never thought of personally. It was sincerely eye opening to every single one of us. We also reflected on ourselves and how we can bring the growth we’ve experienced here back home. We learned not only from each other as peers but from the people in the Dominican Republic. They truly grounded us to be better people and citizens of the world. We explored the town of Jarabacoa for the last time, got all our souvenirs (which we hope you all enjoy), and basked in our last moments together in this amazing place. 

Hello, it’s Nathaly! Being leader of the day for me was mostly very comfortable. I am cheer captain back at home but this type of leadership involves way more caring and responsibility than cheer does. This was a nice change for me because now it helped me learn what I need to work on and what I should continue doing. 

This trip for me has been genuinely life changing. I have opened up in a way that I didn’t know was possible. I learned to evaluate my life not only personally but also through the people around me. I will definitely remember this for life and will never stop bragging about how great my group was because we got told we were the best group this summer by everyone who worked with us that lived here. 

Hiii guysss, this is Danna!! Being the leader of the day gave me a good opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and experience being in charge of my peers for a whole day. At first I was pretty nervous because I’m a pretty shy person but towards the end it got better. I learned that leadership takes a lot of confidence and that it does not necessarily have to be boring and strict but instead there can be different styles to make it your own and more fun for all involved. Not only was I able to reflect on my leadership, but also on my peers’. They did an amazing job! This was an experience that will stick with me forever and that I will use in the future to reflect, and improve my leadership skills! <3

Holaa this is Sofia! While being the leader of the day I felt like I went through so many emotions, especially considering the fact that it was the last day. Right before I became the leader of the day I was so nervous. I didn’t know if I was going to do a very good job but I ended up doing pretty well. During a seminar that we helped run I felt like I really stepped up. In this seminar I shared what we call “big love” to everyone and talked about how much this trip meant to me. This was one of the most special moments for me because it really gave me the chance to reflect on all the deep connections I have made with everyone. Specifically I talked about how this trip made me remember the simple things in life and how we sometimes forget to appreciate it. We often get so caught up in our social life, school work, or jobs that we forget what it feels like to just be humans. It felt like I learned how to see and hear one another and just live in the moment. I never knew that something so simple like that would end up creating such a big impact on me. Overall I am so grateful for this experience and I am so appreciative of what I have learned. We will see you soon and we can’t wait to tell you our stories.

Hello, I’m Joceline! I was one of the last leaders of the day, and at first I was very scared because I’m more of the shy side and don’t speak up. I felt like I wouldn’t be as good as the past leaders because they were amazing but I actually ended up doing well and even liking the responsibility. This experience definitely got me out of my comfort zone however, I did try my best to remind everyone to drink water, make sure everything is in place and clean, picked up trash, and I got comfortable speaking up in front of people. During this trip I made very close connections with everyone which is very special to me, back home it’s hard to fit in and I felt like I didn’t have to. We all just clicked so quickly and had such a genuine connection. I’m truly grateful for this wonderful experience that I’ll never forget and will definitely recommend this to others.  

P.S. More photos on our Google Drive!