"Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself" -George Bernard Shaw

After reading Shaw's quotation, I realized that this trip is not just going to happen and change my life. I am going to have to make it life-changing. For the past couple of months, I have been a bit uneasy about revisiting the place, which opened my eyes to the global inequities and sparked my passion for social justice. Four years ago, I left El Progreso, Honduras determined to return and better its environment and community members' lives. So, I had placed quite a large task in my hands. Up until today, I was more scared for this trip than anything else--scared of disappointing El Progreso, my grandfather, and myself.

Today I tried to push those fears aside and begin working on my agenda for the 5 weeks I will be in Progreso. Just sitting down and envisioning what I will be doing makes my mission much less daunting. However, with so much to do at home for the fund (New fundraiser kick off for Benjamin Royer's Appalachian Trail "Hike for Honduras", partnering with Better World Books, and other fundraisers), I'm going to have to kick it into high gear and get to work. While I still can't really plan ahead for the life-changing part of the trip, I have an idea of some of the experiences that will definitely be influential.

I aim to collect some media to use in a mix of social documentary photography and videography. Through my service, I have learned that often the best service we can do is to simply open one's eyes to the ways others live their lives. So, upon returning, I will compose a social documentary, exposing the raw lives of the Honduran locals and showing the reality of the regional issues that we are so far removed from. I also hope to improve the environmental sustainability of the organizations I will be working with. Already, the Pronino detox centers (where I will be working most of the time) have free-range cattle and chickens, a biofuel supply, a talapia farm, and a garden. Unfortunately, the garden was ruined in the recent flooding, so maybe I will devote the majority of my time to recreating the garden with the kids there. For now, I will be working on these upcoming fundraisers, and creating an environmental curriculum to teach at the John Grove High School.