black travel – ExperienceSomethingAmazing

Am I home?

I felt this over whelming sadness while I sat on the plane heading home. I have been traveling for the last 3 weeks visiting new places, visiting old friends and just exploring. Which never allowed me the chance to fully sit back and process my trip. This feeling has slowly been creeping up on to my soul the last 3 weeks.

This is a feeling that may never go away. This feeling of being trapped in your own world. A world that isn’t at all horrible, a world that I have a loving family, and friends that love and support me. For the last 21 years of my life, I have had everything I ever wanted, I got into a great school, I am one year away from graduating with a special education degree. I never have had to worry about anything when growing up, or even now. For a lack of better words, America has nothing for me. The life I lived in America is not one to want to live. Recently I was stuck in Africa. Yes, stuck in Africa no way of getting back home. (Only for a few days). Here is what happened: I wasn’t able to get into South Africa due to old immigration issues. I was denied entry into the country, and therefore could not catch my flight. What people don’t realize is 90% of southern African fights connect via South Africa. This caused a big problem when trying to get new tickets.

The last three months have been the most challenging, frustrating, wonderful eye opening months I have ever lived. I have experienced racism, and sexism first hand. I have had many people doubt my ability due to my age, color, and gender. I have cried because I felt helpless against kids who were being forced into poverty due to the lack of educational support that was needed. I have seen the sunrise over Lake Malawi a million times and it never ceased to amaze me. I have had kids trust me with every ounce in their bone and neither of us spoke the same language

I have stood in front of 30 to 80 students doing an impromptu lesson because no one was there to teach. I have doubted my ability to teach anyone anything because only 3 kids understood the lesson I taught. I have taught a lesson that almost every single student understood. I have had the lights cut off several times due to the lack of money. I have gone to school and bed hungry because there wasn’t enough food in the house. I have had meet people who have become a second family to me. People who have opened their doors to their homes more times than people I’ve known for years. Through every tribulation, I faced there was an amazing attribute that made my day.

These last 3 months I have needed more things than I could count. I have wanted and cried for help more times than I have in the last year. At this point, I don’t know if Malawi needs me, but I sure do need Malawi. The sadness may never go away. The emptiness may always be there. Maybe there is a larger picture between me and Malawi. Maybe this is just chapter 1 of a bigger book.

Now that I am back home I will be posting past blogs I did not have a chance to post.

Big news coming soon

Until next time

Stay Awesome Jill

Faith to Move a Mountain

In America, you go to elementary, middle and high school, usually free of charge and without any uniforms. If desired one can further his education by going to college/university or a technical school to gain a skill. A lot of the time students must take out large loans in order to afford school. Many times there are scholarships, and other aid available for the students if they meet certain criteria. Here in Malawi education is between the have and the have-nots. Those who have money can continue in education those who do not basically are forced into poverty or early marriage. In Malawi primary education, grades from 1 to 8 (Roughly age 6 to 16) this education is free, but the parents must provide uniforms. This processes a problem due to some parents unable to feed their family. Although a uniform cost roughly $2, most Malawian’s live off of less than $1.25 a day.

Once a student reaches high school they must have high test scores in addition to paying for the fees to go to school. (Roughly $100 a year, which is roughly 3 months of salary, for people who can barely afford food each month). In order to get into university or college, it’s even harder; you must have high test scores in certain areas as well as be able to pay for school. Many students cannot pay for school, therefore, they pay a portion and truly work on faith that the rest of the semesters will be paid for. Living semester to semester not know how your school fees will be paid for is quite hectic.

For a few weeks when university was on break we had a fellow student teacher, Caleb, volunteer his time, his entire break, helping teach the students since the teachers were on strike. Every day he walked up to the school and helped teach some classes and did it with a smile on his face. He asked us about our home country and truly became a friend during this time. On his last days, I found out that he had no way of paying for his next semester’s tuition. I felt it in my heart that he was a young man trying to make the best out of a situation. Caleb truly wants to succeed in life, but sometimes it’s hard when it feels like the universe is against you. Something Amazing paid for his semester at school. I personally know what it feels like to worry about school being paid for. It is an uncomfortable feeling and it is not something to take lightly.

I took a huge leap in faith paying for Caleb’s semester. I wanted to help a friend out who desperately needed, but I did not know how the rest of his semester would be paid. I sadly, informed Caleb that although Something Amazing could help him out now, it was not guaranteed for the rest of his time at University. It has been a few weeks since Caleb returned to school, we were informed that he has been having an even harder time due to his financial situation completely changing. Still unable to help him in his time of need, my faith started to disappear. I wasn’t truly sure what to do or how to help than something amazing happened yesterday. After contacting several people, out of the blue I received a donation to help Caleb out with books, food and other things for this semesters. Along with someone pledging to pay for the remainder of his semesters. Words couldn’t describe the excitement and relief that I could finally give Caleb some good news. All Caleb could say was, “Wow Jill if feels like a dream.” Even on my hardest days things like this make it all worthwhile. If Malawi has taught me one thing, it is that Faith can move a mountain.

Currently, Something Amazing has given a scholarship to the following people:

Freddy: Studying to be a plumber he has been sponsored since 2016.

Andrea: he is currently in high school, sponsored since Jan 2017.

Patience: a young girl we paid one/two semesters of her kindergarten year.

Teleza: a young girl who we paid day care for two months.

Caleb: studying to be a teacher, but wants to take his degree abroad and study to be a doctor.

If you want to help send one of the following ,or another student to school please donate. Something Amazing runs fully on donations, to send one high school student to school it only cost $45for three months. Without donations we wouldn’t be able to send anyone to school and we thank you very much.

If you have any questions please contact me

Until next time

Stay awesome

Jill

Henry Takes Over Malawi

For my new readers, I will be featuring my participants in a few blogs while they are here in Malawi this summer. Here is our first participant Henry.

HI!!! My name is Henry Dioh and I am one of the participants with Something Amazing. I live in Marietta, Georgia and work in insurance. I discovered Something Amazing through a Facebook share in the fall of 2016. When I saw that Something Amazing was going to Malawi in 2017 I knew that I had to be a part of the trip since Malawi was a country that I wanted to visit since my viewing of the 2008 documentary ” I Am Because We Are”. The purpose of my trip to Malawi is to volunteer to teach at a primary school.

Today is my seventh day in Malawi and I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions. I have been staying in a small village called Rumphi in a house with a host family and two other volunteers. Upon entering the home I was greeted with open arms. As I proceeded through the home I noticed that the walls did not touch the ceiling, there was no hot water (sometimes no water at all) with chickens running through the home, and I would have to share a bedroom with a complete stranger. Cold showers are torture!! I immediately thought that this was going to be the longest two weeks of my life. As time progressed I realized that the living situation adjustment was not as bad as I thought it would be. I began to embrace the chaos of living with 8 other people, lack of cold water/ electricity blackouts/personal space.

The warmth of the people in Malawi, whether it’s at my temporary home or on the street, is extremely comforting. There is a strong sense of community here that I do not see in America. It brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart when several of the children and parents (on the road that I live on) come over to talk or just hang out. I love how the Malawians wave to me as I ride my bike through town. Or how you can meet a person one day and go on a weekend getaway to Nkahta Bay the next day. I have not had to worry about my safety. Owning a car is a big luxury here in Malawi ( most Malawians walk or ride a bike). The average person lives on less than $1.00 a day with little to no education and poor health care. I have quickly gained a new found appreciation for life. I think to myself I cannot complain about anything. I have three days left in the great country of Malawi. Although my time is short here I am sure that other great encounters lie ahead of me.

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

Henry Dioh

4 Sticks and a Mud House

In the last 48 hours, I have seen living conditions that wouldn’t even be fit for a dog. A house that was essentially just sticks held together by mud with a straw roof. One bedroom made for 8 people to live in, with no running water or electricity. I saw 6 kids running around who probably hasn’t eaten in a day or two. I’ve seen parents huddled around a circle trying to use the scraps of corn in order to make corn flower to have something to eat. Kids having huge holes in their clothes because that’s all they have. Looking at these things hurt my heart so much. It is the first time I wanted to cry immediately when seeing something.

Now the reason I was at this house held together by sticks and mud was that a few days ago I lost my phone. My phone fell out of my bike basket and I didn’t notice until 20 minutes later after riding into town. At first, one of the men who found my phone demanded money in order to get the phone back. I was taken back because although I lost my phone, I’ve never been held at ransom for anything. We (my host brother, several collages and local friends) eventually talked the man down off of a high amount of money for Malawians, 5,000 kwacha (Roughly 6 dollars) and convinced him to give my phone back. We agreed the money will be paid at a later time.

Now let’s fast forward back to today. I wanted to thank the man who found it in his heart to give my phone back because he could have sold it and brought a new house. (Androids/smartphones are hard to find here and very expensive). After talking with the school board members and one of the men who found the phone it was explained that asking for a ransom is not how the Malawian culture does things. They explained that I am volunteering in his community and that he should be happy that I am here. It is the Malawian culture return something that does not belong to them without demanding money. In the meeting, I wasn’t able to say anything due to the culture. I left the meeting not feeling right inside my heart. Therefore, I and a fellow local friend went and found the man at his house. We explained that I just wanted to thank him for returning my phone because he truly did the right thing.

After seeing the rough living conditions (mentioned above) we asked did they have any food, and the answer was no. My heart sank deep into my chest knowing that one of the kids I teach every day lived in this house. He is a quiet student and his home life is less than desirable. Therefore I did what I felt was right. I went into town and bought enough food for 2 weeks. It’s not much, it does not solve all of the problems these people face, but hopefully, it just makes it easier for a little while. Before sending the wife back up the hill with the groceries, I explained (with the help of my friend) that when you do good things, you can be rewarded.

In Malawi, the average person lives in less than a $1 a day. So the next time you pull into the Chik fila drive thru and order a $8 meal but are upset that the fries aren’t warm enough. I want you to realize that some people haven’t eaten in a few days. These are the people I am encountering every day, these are my students from my class, or my neighbor next door. This is not to shame any one, but with $8 and your help, you can assist in more ways than can be imagined. I cannot fix everything or anything at all, but what I can do is make small impacts in ways people would never expect.

If you can please donate using any link found on my blog.

Until next time

Stay Awesome

Jill

Continue Moving Foward

Many times on you have only heard about the hard times I am having. Things in Malawi for the average person is hard. I do struggle most days with the cultural differences. Many days I am frustrated 75% of the time. I want to flip tables, yell, cry, become confrontational with people and sometimes I don’t even know what to do. I feel like I am on a wild roller coaster, which often comes to a sudden standstill. A stand still that many times I do not think I can overcome, but I keep trying. Yesterday was one of the most difficult days I have had since arriving. I have written previously about my adventures and frustrations at school, and how many teachers do not come to work consistently (read off to school we go). I have had several meetings with the local head chief and brought the issues to his attention. I felt we finally started to move in the right direction, then all the teachers in Malawi went on a strike due to a financial issue that was never addressed last August. This strike has the potential to continue for upwards to a month.

I felt completely defeated at this moment. I had to walk away from several conversations with the teachers and focus on how we wanted to divide 3 teachers (me, Tarik (the German) and Henry (my participant) between 200 students. Through all the frustrations of this strike and the many other things, here are two things I truly enjoy about teaching at the school.

The eagerness to learn.

I have had overly large classes to teach at one time ranging from 7 to 14 years old due to the lack of teachers. Today, while teaching grades 3 and 4 I noticed grades 1 and 2 were standing at the door trying to listen to what I was teaching. My class size was already 70 students and I decided to open my classroom up to the younger grades. This doubled my class to roughly 120 students. At first, it was frustrating and difficult to get a bunch of students whose third language is English to sit down and be quite. After about 10 minutes of settling down, I was able to conduct a lesson about foods that are good to eat. The students try their absolute best in order to understand what I am teaching due to the language barrier. Everyone runs up to me to get their work checked. Sometimes the students will return several times in order to have all the answers correct. Through the lessons, I have taught roughly 75% of the students. On average the students are able to complete the work correctly and understand the assignment given. We have to focus on the small wins.

The willingness to give their last

Many students come to school without having breakfast due to the lack of food available. They may only have a few peanuts, bread, bwabwa (a local fruit/snack), or a small snack in which they are always willing to give me half. The willingness to give me their own pen or food resonates strongly in my heart. These students do not give because they were told, but simply because they want to share. I will always be able to respect anyone willing to give their last, even when their next are not promised.

I have seen the students brighten up over the last few weeks.The looks on the student’s face when they received the new uniforms was priceless. The looks and attitudes of some of the students have completely changed in the last week of receiving uniforms. One boy in my class, Charles, was a trouble maker and never did his work. I found out that Charles did not have a pen in order to complete his work as well as not having a uniform. Since receiving his uniform and a pen he is one of my most talented students. Even with the challenges faced every day I still enjoy waking up and going to school. They say the darkest moment in the night is when the stars shine their brightest. When your faith is tested you simply have to believe that there will be light ahead and continue moving forward.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the people of Malawi. Continue to pray and send good thoughts my way while I am here in Malawi. Each day I hope for the best day possible.

Until next time,

Stay awesome.

Jill

Off to School We Go

First, I want to thank everyone that reached out to me over the last few days. It truly means a lot to me. If you know anyone else that is out in the missionary field please pray for them daily and send them a message, it truly does help us during our toughest days.

I have struggled the last few days to write a blog on my time at the school thus far. The school can be extremely frustrating due to the mentality of the staff members and the school committee. I first will walk you through my typical day. The sun is rising at roughly 5:30/5:45 which means it is time to wake up and get ready for the day. I refuse to take a shower in the morning because it is extremely cold at that time and it would just make me cranky. We have a small breakfast and head out the door about 6:30 in order to ride our bike 45 minutes up several hills, past many corn and tobacco fields, in order to get to the school. We arrive at the school about 7:15 to a handful of students cleaning the classrooms and front yard with a bundle of tall grass, used as brooms. About 7:30/7:45 a lot more students have arrived and the Headmaster (Principle) has gathered the students in rows in order to sing morning songs and have prayer before starting school. At this moment only about one teacher has shown up and is able to assist during the morning ceremony. Teaching in the classrooms are supposed to start at 7:30, but only two out of six teachers has arrived.

The students are now sent to the classrooms while the teachers talk and wait for the others to arrive. Some days teachers do not show up because of a plethora of excuses. For example, they were “busy,” hungover, or just didn’t feel like coming to work. This can happen anywhere between two to three times a week. Over the last week and a half, all the teachers have only come to school once. The other teachers come anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour late, because the walk to school was too long. About 8:30 the teachers begin to teach, if a teacher didn’t show up for the day their class just plays outside in the field for the entire day. The class periods are about 25 minutes long, many times after a class period the teacher will call for a break, which should last about 10 minutes, but usually last roughly 30 minutes. There have been many days that teaching has been disrupted for the students to build bricks or pick corn in the field. I have not truly understood this method completely, and probably never will due to the cultural difference. It is very often that school has finished at about 11:30 am and all the students are sent home.

Many of the students walk a few miles in order to go to school. With the plastic bags in hand hold their torn notebooks and with holes in their clothes the students are ready to learn. I have had the pleasure to teach several English lessons and break the material down for the students to understand. English is the student’s third language that they will have learned by the age of 8. This causes many struggles and confusion when trying to understand a lesson fully in English. The students must also use a lot of memorizing skills due to the lack of textbooks in each class. In certain classes, there are four books for a class of twenty-five. I commend each student for their bravery and readiness to learn even with the lack of textbooks and supplies that a normal American class would have. I would never take any frustration I have with how the school is running with the students. The students have such a pure heart. They enjoy running around barefoot, and playing in the field, enjoying life like any other child.

It has taken me some time, but I have found the project I will conduct for the students while I am here. All of the schools in Malawi require a uniform. Regardless of whether a student can afford the uniforms they are allowed to come to school. At the school I teach: 40% of the students do not own a uniform, and 85% of the uniforms have large tears, missing buttons or completely do not fit the student. It cost roughly $2 to buy a new uniform for a child.Something Amazing will be donating new uniforms to the students that do not have a uniform roughly 35. We also will be repairing the broken uniforms and making them like new. The students have a sense of pride when wearing these uniforms. We want to ensure each child can feel a sense of happiness when coming to school and not a sense of shame because they cannot afford a uniform. School should be a place of refugee when a home situation is not ideal. Something Amazing has hired a local tailor which will help make all of the uniforms for the students within the next few weeks.

Something Amazing is still receiving donations to help provide uniforms for the student. If you donate $10 you just provided a uniform for 5 students. We thank everyone in advance for helping with this project.

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Until Next Time,

Stay Awesome,

Jill

I Almost Gave Up

You read that correctly, after one week I was ready to pack my bags and head to Zimbabwe. This trip is physically and mentally straining to my body. Malawi is a beautiful country, the scenery, the school and the people are all amazing. Riding my bike to school for forty minutes, past beautiful mountains and many Maze (corn) fields is absolutely breathe taking. Saying, “Mwawuka,” (Good morning) to every person and they respond, “Nauka Makola Kwalimwe” (Good morning, I am Fine) gives me a sense of being welcomed into the community. Having all the students run towards you as you ride into school. Or all the students staring while I speak English, gives me a sense of curiosity from the students. Coming home to a wonderfully cooked meal by my Host family and eating dinner together as family. Gives me a sense of a family away from home. Even though all of these things happen daily; a large part of me struggled this past week.

Many times a Malawian sees a foreigner, they think they have money. It has been embedded into their minds that foreigners will give them whatever they ask for. This is extremely difficult for me because many people want to take advantage and lie about their particular situation in order to get money out of you. I have offended people by saying I do not have whatever they are asking for, or told them no because they wanted something of mine(ex. a headlamp, water bottle, my back pack). Teaching at the school was wonderful. There are many loving teachers and students, but many things that hurt my heart as a raising teacher. Many of the students lacked writing utensils, notebooks, textbooks, desk or anything to sit on. The way that the students must learn is through memorization because there is only a textbook enough for the teacher. Many times teacher will show up to school an hour late or not at all. This makes learning disruptive, or for that day there is no learning that happens. These are systematic problems that needs to be address.

The moment that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, was this weekend at the campsite. The campsite was beautiful with Lake Malawi, the lake of a thousand stars, only a 100 yards away. At the campsite, because it is an hour or so away from the village (far away from a town), the food selection was very limited, no electricity, or a lot of running water. I find comfort in food, especially in a period of adjustment. At the campsite we had little fish with eyes in tomato sauce, pap (which is corn flour and water mixed together, very tasteless) and a larger fish(Almost for every meal) (picture below)
. I physically could not make myself eat the food although I hadn’t eaten all day and we were doing physically labor in the sun. Mentally and physically, I was drained and did not think I would be able to last two and a half months in Malawi. I was 5 minutes away from packing my bags and calling a quits. Although I know I can’t leave because I have participants depending on me to be here while they come; I felt defeated. After eating a cookie, some plain bread, and getting a few encouraging messages I felt better. I know giving up is not a solution and pressing forward is all I can do. It is only week one and it can only get better from here.

This journey is not easy, and I never thought it would be, but I could not have prepared myself for how Malawians live daily. I am a privileged American. I do not have to struggle to find food. I do not have to worry about whether I will eat in the morning. I do not have to worry will we have electricity this month. I do not have to worry about walking to school for hours at a time. I do not have to walk a long distance just to get (sort of) clean drinking water. Many Malawians go through these daily/hourly struggles.

Continue to pray for me, and send your good thoughts my way. Encouraging messages do help me through difficult patches. Remember to subscribe to my website on the bottom right hand corner. Follow me on Facebook: Jillian Marie Bundy or Experience Something Amazing, as well in order to get daily/every other day updates.

Unitl Next time

Stay Awesome

Jill

Welcome to the Warm Heart of Africa

First I want to remind my readers that the stories I tell are the experiences I personally will have here in Malawi. This does not mean that all of Africa is this way, nor does it mean that all of Malawi is this way. Take my experiences as the ones that I am having and a way to look into the cultural that I am experiencing. I cannot control how anyone else experiences this culture.

Now that we cleared that up Welcome to the warm heart of Africa. Warning this is a slightly longer blog, I have to set up a picture for where I now live.

Malawi is not similar to any other place that I have been to. It is very difficult for me to explain, but the best way to describe it is from my German friend, Tarik, “It is like you are watching a documentary on Africa and you are sucked into the television.” Everyone is walking on the roads. Many people are selling fruit and vegetables on the side of the road. There are many women walking with large baskets and water on their heads back to their homes. These are just a few sites that are very normal to see here in Malawi. While driving from the airport it was a five and a half hour drive on bumpy, uneven pathed roads, with no street lights once it got dark. Many of the villages that we passed had straw roofs, tin roofs with bricks holding the tin in place, dirt floors, and no windows. This is a very big culture shock to me.

During the car ride, I was mentally preparing to endure whatever house we pulled up to for the next few months. Before arriving I was so scared to get on the plane to come to Malawi. As I explained last year I do not like operating in fear. Thankfully my house has running water, electricity, cold clean drinking water, regular showers (only cold water, unless you want to heat up water then using it like a bucket shower), a normal toilet and lots of food. The unknown before coming put a lot of fear into my mind and heart. “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. Now that I am here and settled there was no reason to even be fearful. One thing I am trying to conquer is the spirit of fear, over the next few months that will be my personal project. Even If I was in a less than desirable situation, I can always adapt and make the best out of any situation.

Everyone is extremely friendly and want to talk to me because I am a foreigner. Many people call me a “Mzungu” which means “white person.” I usually reply, “Nakhana, Mzungu” which means “I am not white” and everyone than smiles and laughs. Simple tasks tend to become a long process due to the lack of conveniences. Today, we washed the dishes from last night and this morning. First, we took all the dishes outside and used the water spicket that was alongside the house. We then took one large tub and filled it with water and the dirty dishes, and then had a smaller tub filled with water. Since we could not find the rag we cut some net and used it to scrub the dishes. Although the process from here was similar to washing dishes in the states; the convince level of having water in the sink was taken away. Another example is cooking, my beautiful house mom must cook everything outside on two heated coals. (shown in the picture below).

I have only been in Malawi for a few days now, and I am enjoying every bit of it. Tomorrow I will start teaching in the school. I spoke to the headmaster, Mr. Kwakwa and explained I am studying at a University to become a special education teacher. He was so happy because none of the teachers at the school is qualified to teach students with special needs. Mr. Kwakwa told me he will give me all the students that are special and have me teach them. This includes the blind, none of my classes has prepared me to teach brail, but we shall see how school goes tomorrow.

Until next time,

Stay awesome

Jill

Let’s Clear the Air

There are many misconceptions of mission/volunteer/humanitarian work whatever you want to call, the work that I do. I just want to clear the air before I head off on this amazing journey for the second time.

First, let’s conquer the things I am not. I do not think I can save the world. I do not think I can save Africa. I do not think I can save Malawi. I do not think I can save Rumphi (the village in Malawi I will be in). This is not a self-fulfillment trip. I am not going over with the western mindset of “this is what these people need.” I am not going over to Malawi throwing money at the people saying, “This will help you.” Why are you going all the way over to Africa to help somebody? I am not going over there to die. I am not going over there to take jobs away from the local people. I am not going over to do more harm than good. This trip is not the first, nor the last trip of its kind.

Now, I know what you are thinking, “Jill, I never thought you were doing any of those things.” Well, these are questions/statements I am faced with almost every day since I decided to go to South Africa a year ago. For those that do not know, I am going to Malawi (a landlocked country in the southeastern part of Africa near, South Africa) with my non-profit, Something Amazing, for 3 months. This is my second trip, however, this is Something Amazing’s first group trip that will have two people accompanying me throughout this journey.

My big vision for Something Amazing is to make lasting programs that anyone can continue:

Send more students to school/college on scholarship
Create a breakfast program for the students to no longer be hungry for school.
See what the access to health care entails- with the goal to educate and create a volunteer program.

Now, let’s focus on the things I personally will be doing while over in Malawi. I want to get to know the people, by name. I want to learn what it is like to live below the poverty line. I want to shine a light to the joys and happiness that even at the lowest times people have. I want to learn the needs of the people from the people and officials. I want to learn to play soccer from the school kids. I want to love on each child like he/she is my own. I want to teach the kids how to play UNO. I want to shine a light on a little unknown corner of the world. If I come back and I have impacted one person, one child then I completed everything I went over there to complete.

Also I want to thank everyone who has sent encouraging messages and have personally called me a superhero. It means a lot and helps me dearly when I am struggling to get ready for this trip. Last year my cheering section was a handful of people. This year I have a full stadium, and I am ready to take you on this journey with me.

T-minus 1 day until I leave.

Until next time,

Stay Awesome,

Jill

New Things to Come

Everyone says 2016 was their worst year yet. For me, 2016 was one heck of a roller coaster. This year may have had its downfalls, but I enjoyed every curve ball, crying nights, laughing mornings, new adventures, and scary moments. This will not be a blog where I tell you about every amazing or not so amazing things that have happened in the last 364 days. (If you are interested in those adventures, read my previous blogs.)

But I will tell you 3 things I have learned this year:

Travel as much as you can

There is nothing more satisfying in the world than traveling to new destinations. If you have always wanted to travel someplace book your plane ticket. Travelling doesn’t have to be super expensive, nor do you have to wait until you are established in order to travel. In 2017 I am trying to reach as many countries as I can. This year I went 3 (South Africa, France, Bahamas) next year I will aim for 6. I have already booked my ticket for an awesome summer in Southern Africa, but I cannot wait for the other adventures to come.

You never will have enough money

The biggest thing I learned is money always comes back. Stop working every day and not enjoying life. Take that vacation you always wanted, go to the restaurant you never got a chance to try, buy that shirt you love. In 5 years you’re not going to look back and think I wish I didn’t spend all that money; instead, you will remember the memories you are making. Start saving. Each check after all responsibilities put 50 dollars to the side and after 4 months do something fun with what you saved.

Meet new people.

Stop being shy and talk to people. 85% of the time if you start a conversation with someone they will answer back. I do not know why people have lost hope in humanity, but not everyone is a serial killer. If you like a person’s shirt, say something,. Want to hang out with someone, invite them over. Stop being shy and staying home alone, meet new people. It is okay to meet new people. Some of my best friends are people I have met overseas, or someone I started a random conversation with. Start small, all you have to do is say, “Hi.”

It’s a new year to become a better person than you were last year. Embrace all the downfalls and cheerful times this year has to bring. Something Amazing has some awesome things planned for this year. Including, but not limited to our very first group trip to Malawi. My plane ticket is purchased and I am more than excited. 5 months to go, and a lifetime of memories. 2016 is was amazing and now I am ready for 2017.

Happy New Year

Until Next time,

Stay Awesome

Jill

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