Smile

“Be the reason someone smiles today.”

I want to be the reason, and I want to make others happy. The easiest way to make someone else smile is to offer your smile first.

This year I am traveling to Tanzania to offer my smile. In Tanzania we will be teaching kids in the classroom and participating in home visits with the students. The children in Tanzania deserve smiles, hugs, kisses, education, comfort, and kindness. I want to go to Africa to give all I have to these children. I am going to open up my heart and my mind to everyone I encounter. On this trip my goal is to create bonds with the people we will be working with and to make a lasting impact on their lives. Although I am the one “teaching” these kids, after traveling to Cambodia, I now know that I will learn just as much from the kids as I can hope to teach them. In Cambodia I learned about love and happiness. I learned that joy is always possible and love can, and should be, shared with everyone all the time. I hope that in Tanzania I learn more about myself and more about life.

In my everyday life I am presented with millions of reasons to smile. Hockey. This sport never ceases to excite me. I love it so much because it’s a mental game that is fast, involved, physical, and team-oriented. My girls hockey team has played together for four years and we have become a family. It’s an amazing group of people who are all supportive, loving, accepting, and hard working. They inspire me to push myself and I am always willing to play for my teammates. This year, I am playing with a girls and a boys U14 Vail Mountaineer Hockey Club team. I also play soccer with Vail Valley Soccer Club and will play for Eagle Valley High School in the spring. Soccer is also a sport that I very much enjoy and am fortunate enough to play with my closest friends.For the past few years I have participated in a Devo snowboarding group. I enjoy being on the mountain with my friends in an active, uncompetitive, and beautiful environment.  

My family can be described by many words, but the one that sums them up the best is inspiring. I strive to be like my mom, dad, and older brother. My parents have shown me what good relationships look like. They are full of loyalty, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, and most importantly unconditional love. I observe the way my parents treat others and I try to be as kind and friendly as they are. I also analyze the relationships they have with my brother and I. My parents are constantly trying to be close to us and it makes me feel loved and accepted. My brother, Zach, is two years older than me and has influenced me in many ways. He has paved the way in athletics. He plays hockey too and when I was younger I would go to all of his games and watch what he did on the ice. Then the next time I would play, I tried to imitate the things I had watched him do. Similarly I see what he does outside of school and sometimes follow his footsteps. I see how often he does things like work out or do homework and what kinds of results he gets, I can then get an idea of how long I should exercise or study for to reach my personal goals.

My family, passions, and previous trip to Cambodia are all a part of who I am. I am very excited for the opportunity to travel to Tanzania and hope to find myself more on this journey. Most importantly though, I want to be the reason for many smiles in Tanzania.