1. Be present

Yeah, I have read this over and over in cute fonts and fun colors on Pinterest and I thought I understood the quote to be present and to like listen and stuff. I was wrong, very wrong. It wasn't until I was interacting with people from South Africa that I truly understood what this meant. So often we greet each other with a "Hey, how are you?", but let's be honest, we just assume they will say good and then we move past that part of the conversation, but overseas, these people actually care and want you to elaborate on the "yeah hey I am good", which was weird at first but definitely refreshing.

These people were truly invested in all of the conversations they have with people, which has definitely impacted the way I interact back in America. I don't just listen to figure out what to say in reply, I truly just listen and I don't even think about my reply until the person is finished speaking. It seems so simple but it has improved so many relationships in my life. Also aside from the people, just the experience alone and all of the places we saw taught me how to live in the present. And no, this does not just mean to not take pictures, in fact, pictures were my favorite part and I was still in the present.

It also does not mean not to do a lot in one day because let me tell you, that itinerary was FULL. To me, being present is all in the mindset, to truly be present in every moment and to have an open mind and heart. Don't carry around the weight of other problems, don't dwell on the past that you can't change, but just be open to every opportunity that comes your way.

2. Appreciate and return to your roots

One of the most surprising parts of the trip was not only hearing how hard some of these people's lives have been but the fact that they want to return to their roots. Not just return, but they want to come back and help where they came from. I started reflecting on my own hometown, how in high school everyone "hated" it and couldn't wait to "break free" of such a small town. The town did absolutely nothing to them except offer them a safe place to grow up with amazing people, and we still threatened to never return because we were off doing 'bigger and better.'

I was so moved hearing people's' stories, the hardships they had and they could not wait to grow up, get educated, and return, to help their people. I for sure have a newfound respect for my roots and even though it is not a poverty-stricken area, there are still areas of improvement and help that can be offered. I own where I come from and appreciate it for all of its glory.

3. There is always something to appreciate.

Whenever I was younger and would waste food my parents or someone would tell me, "there are people in Africa starving", and while this is true and it is awful, the amazing part is they are happy. No, they are not jumping for joy because they don't have much food or water, they are happy for what they do have, not for what they don't. This was super powerful to me, I really thought about life at home, we constantly want materialistic things, and really, when will be satisfied? I have learned to take in my surroundings and appreciate everyone and everything I have in my life, instead of yearning for more. So yeah, they don't have a lot of food or water AND they are happy.

4. Homeless people are people, too.

I will be completely honest, I grew up pretty sheltered and did not have much interaction with homeless people. My experience really just included trips to NYC and my parents told me they were dangerous. I did not think much into the day when the itinerary said we would be feeding the homeless until our bus pulled up and people were jumping up and down waving very excitedly that we were there, and then I realized this was so new to me and a little part of me was fearful if I am being totally honest. People told us not to have phones out and my mind immediately went back to being in NYC and not looking homeless people in the eye. I am proud to say the entire afternoon shocked me and I was embarrassed to say that I was ever nervous. On this day, I met some of the kindest, funniest, and down to earth people I have ever met in my entire life.

They lined up children, women, and then the men, and there were no questions or fights, everyone respected the rules. Everyone was just so happy. They all walked all different kinds of distances to get soup from the Reverend's home, who does this every single day. I truly cannot express how humbled I was in this experience. I realized that when I come home, I want to help homeless people and volunteer in soup kitchen, not be afraid and lock my doors. This one afternoon changed my whole perspective, yeah we work for what we want but what about the people who have no opportunity to work?

5. America isn't too bad.

Yeah, I agree we are by no means perfect. But really, and I mean really, our problems are just not that bad. You don't like the president? You like the president? You don't like the education system? At least we have all of this and we have the freedom and power to voice our opinions. In South Africa, wherever we went, people were so excited to see the Americans and the children had so many questions and really wanted to know everything about our country. Yeah, I know not everyone loves America, but we have people out there who look up to us, our country, and what we stand for.

I was and always am incredibly proud to be an American. We view ourselves as horrible and point out our flaws when we have countries who look up to us, and getting to America even for a short amount of time, for most of those children seemed like a dream come true. Let's just shake off all the haters and embrace the good of our country, everything we have that we take for granted.

6. The world is big.

Our time here is quite short in the grand scheme of things, earth is old as heck. Not in some morbid way, we can live long and fulfilling lives. I just never realized how short our lives are when you think about the history of earth. We spent time at the cradle of humankind where we went through when life started. Yeah, as a STEM major I have heard all about evolution and all that jazz but it wasn't until we were going through this museum where it all clicked, earth truly is old. This only inspired me to live a richer life, to live each day (take naps when needed though) to the fullest, and really just embrace the life we have.

7. So much to see, so much to do

Growing up, we always did a vacation, typically to a beach or Disney, or some kind of resort somewhere. But when I traveled to South Africa I really realized how much of the world I need to see, and not just the nice resorts. Traveling is truly so rewarding and so much fun, while it can be bittersweet, the lessons and memories you take away, can really last a lifetime. While I was only overseas for two weeks, the amount of things I saw and learned only makes me want to go back and explore the rest of the world.