I grew up in a small, suburban town called Katonah.  It was like my own little bubble from the rest of the world.  I had never traveled further west than Buffalo and can probably count the number of states I’ve been to on my hands.  Sophomore year, my friend, Hope, asked me to go on a community service trip with her.  She’d done this once before and talked me into it right away.  It took a little convincing for my parents to get on board, but once they were, they couldn’t have been more for the idea of me going.  For this service trip we would travel, with a small group, to Nicaragua for a little less than two weeks.  In those two weeks we would build houses and latrines for two families. 

                  As I said early, I’ve never left the country, so I’m not going to lie to you guys, I was pretty sheltered.  I had this picture in my head of where those families lived: their homes would be on dirt roads, run down and falling apart.  When I was thinking of the term “homes”, though, I was thinking of an actual structure, with walls and windows and a floor.  I was absolutely shocked when I saw the “homes” these families were living in.  It was essentially four walls and a roof made out of black plastic, with no floor.  The family I got assigned to lived at the bottom of a huge hill.  This meant every time it rained mud would rush right under that plastic tarp. 

               We began by digging the foundation for the house and the latrine, then built them up out of cinder-blocks and cement.  This was probably the hardest I’d ever worked in my life, but the end result was worth it.  Just to see the smiles and the gratitude these family’s had.  The parents were at a loss of words and crying, they were so happy. 

               This experience really changed my perspective on the world.  It made me realize how truly amazing our lives are.  I wanted to stop taking everything in my life for granted-this started with my 40 minute showers.  In Nicaragua, at the end of each day we’d get a five gallon bucket, filled with water, and a bowl.  Going on that trip made me grateful for everything I was given in life.  It popped my Katonah bubble.