In the summer of 2023 at the end of June, my close friend, art teacher, and other classmates of mine embarked on a journey to Guatemala. The purpose of this trip was to work with the organisation, Xela Aid. Xela aid is located in San Martin Chiquita (fact checking that) Guatemala which consists of mostly lower income peoples. Xela Aid, as quoted on their website “… empower(s) families and communities to be healthy, educated and self-reliant”. The week I spent with that group was probably one of the best weeks of my life. I have never felt like I had such a purpose than I had there. Because we are all art students, our main mission there was to do arts and crafts with all the people there. One of the craft ideas my partner and I came up with was to have the kids in the Montessori classes trace their hands in pieces of paper, cut those pieces out, and arrange them to make flowers. It made my day seeing their faces after making them and showing them to their parents. I primarily worked with children under 10, and the children around those ages was a large percentage of the people who came to Xela Aid daily. The main building in Xela Aid reminded me of a school, classrooms, teachers, except the community was so much closer. Everyone was happy and smiling, and you could constantly hear laughs throughout the building. I have a fond memory of when I had come back early from a workshop so I visited my friends on the first floor. At the time the children were leaving and were being picked up by the parents, and as I stood there one little girl I had never met before came up to me and hugged me. It just touched my heart how caring these children were. Not only were they incredibly caring, they were so passionate to learn and were incredibly smart too! Some of these children are smarter than I was at their age! While staying in San Martin Chiquito we also visited homes and we were given the opportunity to see what it is like for the families there. Coming from the United States, I learned how privileged I am. The doctor who accompanied us on this trip was working in the clinic for the majority of the time, and while there he told us about how there were three children in a row who came with hip dislocation. I couldn’t believe it, because I was also born with that issue, the only difference however, was that I was able to be treated because I was born in America. It struck me how different our lives ended up simply due to the fact I was born in a different place. And that only motivated me more.