Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project

For this STEP project I went through Buck-I-Serv to do a two week service trip in Ghana. I stayed at an orphanage in a remote area of the country where I played with children and helped them in school along with about 16 other volunteers. I learned a great amount about Ghanaian culture and day to day routines.

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? 

This is a trip that I will never forget and one that has changed my perspective on people, culture, and the world as whole. By being in a country so vastly different from where I live in the United States, I was exposed to seeing how different other peoples’ lives could be from around the world. It made me feel fortunate to have been raised where I was, but also there was so much to learn from the Ghanians. Their sense for family was strong and apparent. Community in this country was like nothing I have ever seen before, everyone working together and helping whenever possible. Also, their general good spirits were infectious. Everyone seemed to be happy even though they understood their struggling situation in the country they live in. 

These traits and more are ones I wish could be further instilled into American ideology. Although America is objectively better off economically than Ghana I’m not quite too sure that the overall happiness is greater within the states. This is most likely because we get too caught up in our own lives at home working our lives away that we forget at the end of the day we are all just striving for this over fantasized feeling of happiness. If there is one thing I’ve learned for sure it’s that sometimes we all just need to take a step back and not take the things we have for granted.

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?

There were so many different interactions with all sorts of people that influenced this change within me. The group that created a large amount of this perspective shift within me were the kids I was playing with and teaching at the orphanage. Although communicating with them was a struggle due to their lack of proficiency in English, their behavior and joyful mannerisms did all the communicating it needed to. The kids were as innocent and happy as ever. This is what really made me realize that happiness isn’t something that’s relative to where you live or what economic status you have, everyone has the same opportunity for positive energy in their life. The kids didn’t seem concerned with world politics, and quite frankly most seemed quite content with their living situation and the people around them. They weren’t obsessed with all the iPads and technology that we let our kids in America over indulge in, instead they were all joyfully living in the present and taking each day as it comes. It was quite refreshing to see a lifestyle such as this. 

Another group of people that had an impact on me on this trip were the older kids at the orphanage. These kids could almost all speak fluent English which made our interactions much more interesting and informational. I learned all about Ghanaian culture through them, the bad things, the good things, and everything else in between. Just as the younger kids were, these older kids were always happy and constantly making jokes and having fun with one another. However, it was apparent that the kids had a much firmer grasp on the idea of their unfortunate living state and the opportunity for something that exists in the world. They dreamed of coming to America and having a chance at a life where living financially comfortable was possible. Some of these kids weren’t even sure where they would get there next meal or make the little amount of money they needed to scrape by. This is when it really hit home how fortunate I am to have grown up where I did. I understand that I shouldn’t feel guilty for having more comfortability and opportunity than these kids, however it is without a doubt heavy on the heart. It was the true meaning of sometimes life isn’t fair. We should be more mindful of the positive things in our life that we often overlook. 

Lastly, one other group of people that had an impact on me were the other students on my volunteer trip. I had a good feeling before the trip that I was going to be in the minority in terms of gender, but this feeling was verified when I found out that there was only one other male student and about fifteen girls. I knew that differences in perspectives in that sense would be quite interesting to experience which made me even more excited for the trip to begin with. Now that the trip is over, I have to say I learned a great amount from all the other volunteers on the trip. All of the women on the trip were so caring and compassionate towards the children and all others. These are two traits that I feel like sometimes I lack in my life and just by being around the girls on the trip I was able to see these ideals on display. Also, the faculty that were in our group as well were very informative and helpful in almost every situation. They were great leaders and handled every problem with respect and a general sense of calmness. By being around them I also learned more about these leadership qualities that I hope to have more in myself. 

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?  

I have always been a big proponent of the fact that we all have so much to learn from travel. I have been lucky enough to already have a great amount of travel experience in my life, and I believe that my learning process about the world has only begun. That is why this trip and what I learnt from it means so much to me. Especially from this experience, I was able to be immersed in a culture like I never have been before. It gave me the biggest perspective shift I have ever had from any experience in my life. That is why I will never take the lessons from this trip for granted. Perspective is everything. 

As I continue my travels in my life I will take the spirit of the Ghanaian culture and do my best to spread through word about the infectious happiness they all possess. I have been positively impacted to the fullest extent by this trip and my hope is that others will get the same experience that I had in later groups with Buck-I-Serv to this site.