Personal Impact Research Paper

Personal Impact This trip as a whole has had a profound and unexplainably meaningful impact on my life. When I reflect on the trip through my journals, two specific examples of this profound change come to mind. The first experience was staying with a homestay family. I knew this was going to be a huge personal challenge for me. Not only would I be staying with a stranger for a roommate, I would also be living in a strangers home. Of course, this challenge turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip. I was responsible for being the translator between our homestay mom and my roommate, as well as communicating with her important details about the program. I had never used my Spanish skills outside of the classroom in such an extensive way, and I felt myself grow in confidence. Instead of my usual dread of language classes, I am excited to learn more next semester now that I know I can use them in the real world. …show more content…
I adore children and spending time playing with them was so much fun, but I was also nervous about this aspect of the trip. At the root of this nervousness was the same shyness that I had dealt with in the homestay situation. Children are very direct and surprisingly intimidating, and I was worried I would not be able to communicate them. Of course, that was not even a remote issue. There is always a way around a language barrier, and this time it was simply playing and having fun. I learned so much from the children, such as differences in the language, slang, and cultural differences in how they play and interact. It was another step in personal growth for myself and a blast to