Accomplishments

        Accomplishments are a funny thing to describe because each person has their own definition of accomplishment. Some people believe an accomplishment can be just waking up in the morning, and others believe an accomplishment has to be that feeling after some great achievement. This semester, I have had many different kinds of accomplishments because I believe since living in the Dominican Republic I have been “Ruined for Life”. Cliche as it sounds, this experience has changed me, and changed me for the better. It is because of all the accomplishments I have made that I know that the unsuspecting future, scary as it maybe, is full of endless possibilities and great wonder.

When the Encuentro Dominicano program was over, that’s when I really realized that I and everyone else in my Comunidad has accomplished so much. When looking back at all the many things we had done, we did them well, and we had fun. An accomplishment, that feeling of success or successfully doing something, was shown especially in our use of the Spanish language and acclimating into the Dominican culture. I believe these were important personal accomplishments for me because these were very pertinent to semester abroad and for personal growth. Another accomplishment for everyone and especially me was creating life-long relationships with the people in the campo, our service sites, and at ILAC.

These accomplishments were made using what we learned in our studies and understanding ourselves in different situations. An example of this is, is when we used the pillars from ELP class in our daily routines at ILAC and at our service sites. We had to be self aware of our surroundings, and our abilities of what we can and should do. In doing our actions we had to use ingenuity, be creative and flexible. Everyday regardless of what we did we had to be and were loving with everyone we met and interacted with. Also through this the overall result was becoming a hero in a sense or having heroic characteristics with actions that are commendable.