The People, the Relationships, Everything...
To say that the people I met this summer were important to my experience, would be an understatement. They were absolutely everything. They were the purpose of my research, the drivers of my own personal change and the reason my time in Uganda was so unbelievable. Day in and day out I was constantly exchanging ideas, cultural norms, and laughter with the people I met. Above all else, the interactions I had with the Ugandan people drove the change in my perceptions away from considering people in this part of the world as separate from my own life. It is very easy to shrug a large, faceless, group of people off if they are on the other side of the world regardless of how much they may need your help. If you put a face to that struggle and to those people though, it becomes something personal and real. This is what happened to me and I'm so much better for it.
Reflecting back to when I first entered college, I never would have expected myself to travel to Uganda for an entire summer. Even now while writing this, I cannot help but smile at the thought of the how far I have come. I changed from a boy who wants to own a professional soccer team, to a guy who needs to help others. Through my friendships and interactions, I have been left with a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of internal struggle, but at least I am comforted with the knowledge that I now know I need to serve.
Reflecting back to when I first entered college, I never would have expected myself to travel to Uganda for an entire summer. Even now while writing this, I cannot help but smile at the thought of the how far I have come. I changed from a boy who wants to own a professional soccer team, to a guy who needs to help others. Through my friendships and interactions, I have been left with a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of internal struggle, but at least I am comforted with the knowledge that I now know I need to serve.