Doing What I Love.

        I was four years old when I discovered my passion for helping others. However, I never pictured myself being able to do what I love as a fifteen-year-old high school student. I have traveled to Nepal and Tanzania with Children’s Global Alliance (CGA) over the past two summers. This year I am fortunate enough to have the chance to go to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in July of 2019 as my third trip with CGA.
     I honestly don’t remember what my life was like before I fell in love with the kids I taught, but I know that these trips changed my life. Of course, I still love playing lacrosse, dancing, going to YoungLife, playing Star Wars Battlefront with my twin brother, and screaming the lyrics to my favorite songs with my best friends—but there are parts of me that have been altered. I’m more outgoing, I have more confidence, I’m conscious of how I act every day, and I’m able to laugh at myself when I mess up.
     A month and a half ago, I was in a bike accident and shattered my left collarbone, got a severe concussion, broke my nose in six places, broke my right hand, and bruised my ego—all because I was going a little too fast. Since then, I’ve been struggling with PTSD and depression as an addition to the anxiety I’ve had since I was a child. One of the things that have gotten me through the past few weeks are the children I fell in love with. Whenever I’m low, I think about how Enock would taunt me while playing soccer, how Nishan’s eyes would light up when he answered a question right, or how Ebenezer was always making me laugh with the faces he made and the jokes he cracked.
     After the experiences I had with my student mentors on my CGA trips, I hoped to become a mentor in the future. As the student mentor for Cambodia, I want to help my peers with anything they might need; lesson plans, blogs, and help them discover their passions.