Today was my first day being leader of the day. Honestly, it was one of the best days of my life. Todays theme was aid and development, something that plays a huge role in my life as a youth advocate. The first event that took place was having the chance to listen to Carlos Corcino, the CEO and founder of Constanza’s first community group ASODECHO, where his soul purpose was to help assist people in the Dominican republic that come from communities that aren’t in the best shape. As a founder of a club being able to get advice from someone who understands how hard it is to create and manage a company was a blessing for me. He taught me that no matter how hard things get and how many people hate on you, you should never give up on your dreams. One of the biggest impact on my life today was being a teacher to kids that didn’t speak English. One if the biggest takeaways from this rare experience is that in life one of the key things to always remember is that patience is key in life if you want to succeed. In life we will all be presented with situations where we have to stay calm and collect our thoughts before we act. In the end, the key lesson I learned is that the only limitations in life is in our minds and sometimes we have to look at things through other people’s perspectives

-Nasheem

Although I’m sick as I write this, I couldn’t be in a better place. Today featured the first ever student Leaders of the Day – Nasheem and I – that were ‘nominated’ by the GGL/PC to set the example for the process, and while it at first seemed daunting I actually had a really good time. I found myself talking to new faces and forgetting that I was even the ‘leader’ because everyone was so accepting and casual with the both of us. As the more quieter person of the duo, it felt exhilarating to step outside of my shell for a bit (although Nasheem’s Cardi B impressions left a longer lasting effect.) I was a bit worried at first that not everyone would accept me, since the choice of the position of leader was out of my reach. I’m grateful to say that everyone responded well to the wake-up calls, breakfast, chores, morning seminar, the visit from humanitarian and activist Carlos Garcino, CAP Seminars as we witnessed the true rains of DR, and our English tutoring classes with nothing but open minds and kindness. I personally had been looking forward to the classes all day, and was super excited when our three students engaged with us just as much as we did. Carlos (fifteen) taught us how to dance hip-hop after our lessons, and the eyes of a quiet girl named Kimberly lit up when she realized that us Americans listened to Justin Bieber just as much as she did. Our icebreakers worked out instantly, activities had all of us laughing on the classroom floor, and questions in shy Spanish and English hit home.

My tentative viewpoint towards being Leader of the Day took a backseat to the smiles I received from both my peers and new faces. I love it here, and I’m so blessed.

-Yasmin