I want to change lives.
I really, really do.
And now, finally, I’m given an opportunity to do it.
I’ve been doing volunteer work with an organization called Rustic Pathways for two summers in a row. In 2010, I went to Costa Rica to help sustain sea turtle life by building a hatchery for eggs and moving the eggs from dangerous areas to a safe place where they will survive. This year, in 2011, I went to China to volunteer at a Giant Panda conservation center, where I helped care for and feed the endangered pandas.
That was all fun, and helpful, and all that jazz, but I wanted something more.
A week ago, my friend Max (who I’ve done both of the Rustic programs with) called me and told me about this amazing program hosted by Rustic.
“There’s limited spaces available,” he said, “And you don’t get to just sign up, you actually have to send in an application and have an interview to see if you get accepted or not.”
Right away my curiosity was piqued, I needed to be accepted to go? I kept asking Max, one of my best friends since kindergarten, question after question about it until he finally directed me to the site where the trip was explained.
I read through it and my breath got caught in my throat. It sounded so important, so influential, so life-changing.
I sent in my application right away and emailed the director to ask for an interview.
The next day, I received an email from Rustic:
Hello Aria,
Congratulations on being accepted into our programs in Southeast Asia.
I literally squealed, my hands flying to my mouth, and my eyes started to tear up. This is the experience I have been waiting for!
In the summer of 2012, from July 3 to July 20, I will travel with my friend Max and roughly six other students into Thailand, Burma, and Laos. But it will not just be for seeing the other countries and what their culture is, no. I will travel to an estimated fourteen tribes and speak with young men and women there about their life, their hardships, their experiences, and anything else.
I will help sponsor various children to go to school and supply villages with water, food, bicycles, soap, and a friend. I will work with Rustic and the other students on the trip to think of ways to better the lives of all the people in those tribes, and try to set our plans into action.
I want to experience life, and I can’t do that by just talking about making a difference. I have to actually go out there and do it.
And I will go out there.
And I will do it.
And nothing is going to stop me.
OVS Journalism Blog 
Hi! I found your post through google, since I’m interested in Tribal Issues for next summer. I would love if you could comment back and tell me more about your experiences on the trip so I can get some insight on someone who actually went on the trip.
Thank you!
Hi, Erika!
If you want to know about how absolutely fantastic this trip is, read the article I wrote about it for our school paper here: http://www.ovs.org/OTH/?p=414
In short, it was the greatest experience of my life. David, the chairman, is a wonderful man, and all of the staff you meet are incredible. It is, in the literal sense, awesome.
Okay, thank you!
I am already accepted into the program, but I’m second guessing it just because it will be my first Rustic Pathways. Past family issues have prevented me from going on one prior to this year. I am very excited, but I am nervous that the other teens going on the trip will not be welcoming, or that I will be left out of certain activities because I have no been on any of their trips prior. Am I being ridicuous about this? Lol. This is my first and sadly, last summer I will be able to take a trip like this, so I really want to make this one special.
Oh goodness, no, don’t second guess it at all. We had one boy and it was his first summer with Rustic, too, and he was never excluded for a second. You spend so much time with everyone and you make such close bonds, I’m actually planning on spending my upcoming break with one of the girls I met on the trip across the country! Everyone had such an amazing time, whether they knew people going or had never even been on a Rustic trip before. It really is a phenomenal experience! You won’t regret it for a second!
I’m actually going back to an invite-only Tribal Issues II because we all loved it so much David decided to make one happen. I swear, it’ll be the best thing you’ve ever done.
Okay, thank you for invalidating my fears and answering my questions.
I’m sure I’ll contact you later on when the trip comes with other questions like what to take, etc.
You’ve been a great help. 🙂