As I sit here in the airport, waiting for a plane to take me home, I feel happy. Over the past 16 days, I got to meet some of the most amazing,
driven people I have ever known, including the School the World staff, who work tirelessly to improve conditions here; the many village 
parents I talked to, who despite having so little for themselves are sacrificing to better educate their children; and the students, who have a burning desire to learn and grow
While here, I have felt the full spectrum of human emotion. Happy, sad, frustrated, surprised…I have worked hard to share my experiences with you through interviews and blog posts. I have learned a ton. I will never look at education as a burden again, but rather the most amazing privilege. I will be thankful that I drew a good number in the lottery of birth and have been given so many opportunities. I will better separate the truly important from the trivial.
When I get on the plane in a couple of minutes, I return to my happy, sheltered life, where I have enough food and the potential to do and be whatever I want. It is all too easy to forget that the villages I leave behind continue to endure hardships. People here cannot escape in the way that I so easily can by hopping on a plane. I empathized with people in Guatemala while I was there and tried to help their situations in whatever ways I could, and now I am challenged with the task of remembering these amazing people.
Despite progress the communities are experiencing thanks their hard work in conjunction with School the World, they still have a ways to go. It will take a lot more than two weeks in their country to truly help. Hopefully when I return I can find a way to continue to aid their causes.
Patzalam, Cacabals, El Durazno, Pain, Agua Viva, Chulumal, Pasin, Xesic, Rio Mactzul, Sibaca, Colonial San Juan, Choyomche, Mactzul Septimo, Panimache, and School the World, I cannot thank you enough for the time of my life, and I look forward to supporting you and seeing you grow in the future.
Readers, thank you so much for reading my blog. You’ve given me a voice, for which I am so grateful. More importantly, you’ve given this country hope. By reading my posts, you keep Guatemala and education in your thoughts, and thereby help to make sure that this magical corner of the world will not be forgotten.
Physically, but never in spirit, I would just like to say: ¡Adios, Guatemala!
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