The most exhilarating, emotional and evolving experience of my life.
It is only natural for us to go into experiences in our lives with certain expectations and preconceived notions, but teaching in Jamaica was like no other experience that I have ever endured in my life and nothing that I had expected.
The humanitarian literacy project SuperKids through Great Shape, Inc. has forever impacted my life in only ways that one could experience. I have an extended family of SuperKids volunteers who were so welcoming and helpful. We have all created bonds that will last a lifetime, and I only wish I could have taken them with me and brought them into the school I will teach at in the future. The children will not only change your ways of teaching, but the way that you look at your life and the gratefulness you hold for the little things around you that you take for granted. You will land back in America with a different thankfulness in your heart for all you have been blessed with.
The best advice that I could give someone going into this trip is the concept of putting others before yourself. This trip is not about you. It is about the hundreds of lives that you will impact on your week long journey. Help those who need help, thank those who help you, and model for the children what it is to be a good person.
You will go into this trip with expectations, but I encourage you to not hold strong to them. Everything will exceed your expectations and I assure you that you will want to return and continue to look for ways to give back to your community as a result of your experiences in Jamaica. There is nothing more rewarding than a genuine smile and hug, which you will receive plenty of on your journey.

Five days are left until my flight departs from Tampa International Airport. A lot of excitement comes with this trip, but with that excitement comes some nerves; nerves mainly to do with whether or not I will meet the weight limit at baggage check in and if I will be able to make an impact in five days in literacy with the first, second, and third graders I will be working with at Mount Airy.

I am not one who is foreign to the concept of travel, but packing a carry-on, personal bag, and checked bag with twenty-five pounds of school supplies included is a new concept to me. Lots of Space Bags, planning and revising outfit choices, and sitting on suitcases were used in this process. Never mind the fact that I have weighed my bag three times, I am notorious for meeting the weight limit within two to five ounces on the airport’s scale; and that is without twenty-five pounds of school supplies. We will see!

St. Petersburg College has prepared me with the necessary tools for providing students with a meaningful and intriguing learning experience. This, however, will be different from any classroom I have stepped into. The classrooms, the students, the teachers, and the expectations will be different. I am grateful for the creativity I know that I have running through my genes, as I know that this will come to use in the attempt to get the lessons to stick in their minds for not only the week that I am there, but for the long term when they look back at their career as a student.

I am so excited to get to know these children and to teach them a few things that I think would help them while they are reading and to really fall in love with literacy. So, aside from the nerves, I am thrilled to have this opportunity and know that it will only be the first of many international teaching experiences on which I embark on. I look forward to Saturday and I look forward to the smiles I will get to see during the five days I am in the classroom with the students I have the opportunity of working with.