The time I spent in Coronel Bogado, surrounded by the most wonderful and giving human beings, was life-changing in every sense of the word. Every interaction, every person I met, every conversation I had, changed me for the better. It opened my eyes and opened my heart to the humanity that ties us all together. And yet, as I sit here and try to put it into words, I am still struggling to wrap my head around it all, still trying to process everything. I know I've changed. I see it reflected in the eyes of my family. I see it on my co-workers faces when I try to describe my trip. I hear it in the voices of my friends when they try to formulate a reply to my statement "I'm not the same girl I was when I left.". It's as if a long-dormant piece of my soul has come alive and now it stubbornly refuses to go back to sleep.  The 8 days I spent in Coronel Bogado allowed me to shed the masks I don every day, to break down the walls I built around my heart and my soul. The 8 days I spent in Coronel Bogado allowed me to live my truth, allowed me to be my most authentic and genuine self.

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"Coming home from Paraguay in 2016, I was extremely excited to see my family and friends. I was happy to be home for a day and then I got this weird feeling in me that I've never felt before. I felt guilty for a lot of things that I had and did. My family started noticing I was very quiet and almost sad. It was hard to come home and watch people take things for granted. I even realized how many things I took for granted myself. I started getting angry at people for being so ungrateful, even for the little things. I would listen to conversations and think to myself ‘how greedy they sounded’. After coming home from a place that was filled with so many extremely grateful people, it was hard to comprehend. I've realized I shouldn't feel guilty, but instead be thankful & always appreciative.  Every time I am being selfish or ungrateful, those people and places come to my mind & I fix it immediately. I don't think a day goes by I don't think about the trip. It changed my life in the best way possible.” 

-Hannah

After traveling to Coronel Bogado, Paraguay with Girls Soccer Worldwide, my life was changed for the better. The 2018 trip was my second year traveling, and it gave me a more eye-opening experience and takeaway. After my first year with Girls Soccer Worldwide, I made direct changes to my life through family, friends, soccer, and school. Although the changes I made that year were necessary to my life, my attitude out of my second trip was far more significant. After returning home, it took me awhile to process everything I saw firsthand. A month later, I was hit with a realization. The 2018 trip made me realize that I wasn’t meant to just improve my life, but I’m supposed to help improve others’ as well. The 2018 GSW trip opened my eyes to all the possibilities in the world, and the plethora of opportunities I was given to change it. Not only has it motivated me to succeed in school and all of my other activities, but the trip has just motivated me to be the change...because if not you then who? If not now then when? I’m forever thankful for Pam, Walter, and the entire Girls Soccer Worldwide community for becoming such an important part in my life, for helping me blossom into the person I’d only dreamed of being.

-Gabriella