Dear Readers,

It has been over 2 months since my last post! I have been having a great time. In between that time I made it to Peru (and just bought my tickets to go to Buenos Aires) and have been meeting so many new and interesting people. At the same time I have been solidifying relationships with people that I think will be friends for some time in the future or at least maintain as a colleague for a get-together somewhere down the road. So here's what I have felt about this whole life-changing experience.

Study Abroad Self Reflection

June 27^th 2009 I am sitting in my room here in Recreo and I am avoiding my final papers at all costs. Although, I am not getting to work this post is not a complete waste of time.

At this point I am getting ready to close the chapter of my life here in Chile. With this closing chapter so many conclusions are evolving and so many new thoughts and emotions are running through my mind and spirit all at once.I came here to Chile with simple goals and that was to learn Spanish and get away from all that I have known for the first 20 years of my life. Through this journey I have added many goals; while some have been met others have been nothing more than ideas. Honestly, the two main goals that I came to this foreign land to accomplish have been completed. Obviously my goal to get out of normal rhythm of life in Long Beach has been met. Here I have introduced to my self a new life routine and have experienced things I never would have imaged. For example, I never thought I would go backpacking on a 4-day excursion but I did and now I love backpacking. My second goal to learn Spanish has been met also. Okay, maybe I do not speak perfectly and maybe I do not understand what people say at first, and I do have a gringo accent but I have impressed myself with how I developed the language. Even though my host sister Isabel makes fun of me everyday and tells me that I do not know how to speak Spanish (nor English haha) I know I have learned so much. With learning a language you realize so many other self-truths.

The biggest life lesson I had here was getting to know myself more; finding out what I want to do in my future, my strengths, and my weaknesses. And so I have learned is that confidence goes a very long way. With confidence it gives you the courage to take on new tasks and excel in any subject. I have learned that somewhere along the way my confidence level went down below natural level. With out maintaining a high confidence level I began to accept things that I necessarily did not want to do. For example, at the begging of my stay I did not go out much because I lacked the confidence to learn how to get around on my own. I hid in a comfort zone and did not want to put myself in a vulnerable position. So what I learned is so what, I am going to make a mistake, I may sound funny, and obviously I am not Chilean but going out there and making yourself live life is how you learn. I am not going to let a lack of confidence be an issue no more. In addition to that I have learned some other important things about my self.

Additionally, these quick points are those I need to admit to myself before I can start getting better at them. One is I need to stop procrastinating. I severely procrastinate and that leads to a lower quality outcome. I know I am capable of many things yet I just do not do them to the highest caliber because I wait too long for them to develop into a great work. Being a procrastinator is not a trait I want to have for the rest of my life so at this moment I need to make that change. Second thing I need to work on is selling my self. Everyday if you realize it or not you are being perceived or in other words judged by people. Where ever you go or what ever you do people see the way you walk, speak, and carry yourself as a person. The reason why I feel that I need to work on self-image is because I want to be a leader whether it is in a small community or among a larger scale I want people to see me as someone they can trust. Doing the right thing is half of it but if there is no one there to support you, you are not leading anyone. At least through my actions I want to be a leader by example. All in all most of the time I am not a leader yet working towards that goal now will turn me into the person I want to be tomorrow. So every day I am starting to become a leader, at least by influencing an individual in some type of positive way.

P.S. adding some pics for your viewing pleasure!