16
Location: West End, Tortola
It’s hard to believe that our trip has come to an end. Looking back at the past couple weeks all I can think about is how incredibly grateful I am to have had the opportunity to have met so many amazing people, helped so many communities, learned so many new things, and had so many incredible experiences. It feels like we have been here forever but at the same time its hard to believe that tomorrow morning we will all have to say our goodbyes and return to our normal lives. Today we woke up early and hiked up to Spyglass Mountain on Norman Island for a reflection. The hike was steep and challenging, but so worth it when we got to the top. It was the most breathtaking view I have ever seen. Standing on the tallest rock, you can see a 360-degree view of everything. We got back our goals from the beginning of the trip and reflected about how we accomplished them or not. On our way up the mountain, we each found one beautiful rock and one ugly one. The ugly one was supposed to represent the bad parts of us that we want to leave behind and we said them out loud than though them off the mountain. The beautiful ones, on the other hand, are to represent what we want to take home from the trip, our memories, friendships, and values. I have learned so much about myself and life in general on this trip. I have learned that every little thing you do has a larger impact-weather it be how your attitude affects someone else, or how a plastic bottle could end up on a beach killing endangered bird species, or how a small act of kindness or helping out makes a big difference. If everyone has the mindset that doing one small thing won’t make a difference, then the world won’t get any better, but if everyone had the mindset that they can make a difference, they can and will. By picking up a few pieces of trash each we all managed to clean up the beach and save some lives, and by racking some leaves and painting some tables, we managed to make the Valley Day School look a whole lot better. I have also learned where true happiness comes from. Throughout the trip, our counselors have told us a lot of stories about people who live here and have every reason in the world to be miserable and depressed but are as happy as can be. I hope to come back here again and to see my friends I made again soon. I will never forget any of the amazing experiences I had here, and it makes me sad to have to go, but I will go home a better person with much more knowledge and happiness.