Today, we began the first day of our CAP project! After days of talking, deciding, and intense brainstorming we came to the conclusion of painting the classrooms as well as cleaning and refurbishing the garden. Today we all truly began to realize that helping others feels amazing. It not only puts a smile on the face of the person you’re helping but also your own. Today we also learned a little bit more about perseverance. While we have had several days of intense work and fun, each day comes with its challenges and we are learning to deal with them one by one.

As today was very hot, similar to all of the other days, we did a lot of hands-on work outside in the garden, picking up trash to prep for the days of gardening in the future. One of the biggest surprises for me today was seeing how fast we worked in such a small amount of time. The positivity and work ethic today was amazing even though we worked through some pretty rough conditions. I am most proud of seeing everyone put their best foot forward and realize we are doing this project for others, which I feel boosted the morale a lot. Being Lider Del Dia (LDD) for the day was both exciting and stressful. I really liked being in charge and being able to answer everyone’s questions when they had them.

Today I felt like I always had to be on my toes so I knew what was coming next, and how to solve problems on my own without always having to go to one of the GGL’s for help. One thing I learned about myself today was how much my energy can impact others, when I was upbeat and happy when talking to the group they seemed to have fed off of my energy and reciprocated it to me, each other, and the daily tasks at hand.