Summer 2011: BELIZE!!!

So all of my life I've wanted to travel. Ever since I started learning about different countries, places, and people I've wanted to actually experience them. I would literally go ANYWHERE in the world. But everyone needs a place to start right? So I've been going back and forth as to what I want to do. I've thought about study abroads through BYU to London, Italy, Paris, or Jerusalem. I've looked at Field Study groups going to Mexico, Africa, India, and Thailand. I've searched almost every humanitarian trip on the planet to try and decide WHAT I want to do.

Mind you, this has been going on ever since I started high school. I've had the travel bug for quite some time but for some reason never had the actual money or motivation to make it HAPPEN. One day this past summer I was having a really deep moment of thinking (this happens a lot) and realized I was 21 and still haven't traveled ANYWHERE. It was not a good moment to say the least. This quote kept popping up in my mind that was from the movie Love Happens where she says something like, "People know exactly what they want, they just let too many obstacles and excuses get in the way of it." And I'm sitting there thinking THAT IS ME! I sit and think of all these things I want to do but never follow through.

So I promised myself no more of this and I decided I was going to make my dream happen this summer! So...after applying and figuring out exactly what I wanted to do this summer I decided...

 I'm going to.....BELIZE!!!

It's through a program called Help International and I am seriously ecstatic. It's exactly the kind of experience I was looking for. It's going somewhere out of the country, but is more then just traveling and having fun...it's helping people too. Teaching classes, helping them build homes, whatever I'm looking to help with I can do! It is wonderful. I completed my application and got accepted last week and seriously can hardly wait. I have a few more things I need to do to raise money for the trip but it feels so wonderful to actually have something planned! Its going to change my life...I feel it : )