(1) What do feel about the trip and why do you feel that way?- Honestly, I feel kind of nervous about the trip. I have never really been that much of an independent person who is fully capable of taking care of herself properly without much support from others. Until now, I am struggling and wanting to overcome this personal barrier. With this said, I am also actually very excited about the trip. No doubt, it will prove a challenge for me. However, I am willing to take it without hesitation to enable myself to grow as a whole. Never having gone to another country, and for quite a long while, without my family to take care of me before, I feel that this trip is a significant stepping stone for growth as a person both emotionally and in terms of character. However, there are also other reasons that I think have played a big part in my determining my feelings towards this trip. Coming from the Philippines, I have had what you might call first-hand experience with the hardship and struggles of those who are not as fortunate and privileged as most of us. Back then, I saw with my own eyes the sufferings and sacrifices the less fortunate and children even younger than me were going through. However, it was almost always only through the car's window. I could not reach out, and even if I could, I could not have done anything to be of any use. Maybe this is why it is such a sensitive topic to me. Now, though only a bit older, I want to be able to do something that will at least make a difference, even if only a bit, in somebody else's life with my own hands.
(2) What are your personal goals for the trip?
- My personal goals for the trip....I guess it is to be happy and make others happy. Though I know it may sound such simple a goal, I couldn't explain it in such 'chim' terms that others would have liked to hear. I guess I am also aware that the paths to it are complicated and it in itself will be challenging to achieve. I want to grow as a better and more matured person through this experience, able to stand on my own feet - a feat quite difficult for me to achieve. Often, though I know it may seem strange, I often get carried away by my thoughts, imagining what it would be like to be in other people's shoes - how I would feel, what I would do, what I would and would not want others to do. Succinctly, I want to change myself, and be able to make a difference in somebody else's life, even if only a bit.