This is just a short, final blog to wrap up my year. Thank you so much to everyone who supported me in this endeavor. It was such a rewarding experience that I was blessed enough to have. I look forward to telling stories and sharing photos with everyone. Much love.
I’ve smelled body odor, feet, perfume, fresh tortillas, cheap cologne, dirty dogs, rain, smoke, burning rubber, burning pancakes, burning smores, chlorine, trash, sardines, lauren’s chacos, diapers, babies, fall mornings in the woods, melinda’s perfume, bug spray, dirt, fingernail polish, and gasoline.
I’ve eaten lots and lots of tortillas, nopalitos (cactus), barbacoa, pozole, naan, mango juice, pineapple juice, taquitos, mole, cheese, guava paste, serranos, jalepenos, poblanos, tomatillos, eritrean, afghan, iranian, congolese and indian food, lentils, sweet bread, mate, mexican hot chocolate, mexican candies, chalupas, shiner, dos equis, and margaritas.
I’ve felt joy, compassion, frustration, anger, uncertainty, repulsion, sadness, enrichment, humility, embarrassment, confidence, annoyance, indecisiveness, decisiveness, exhaustion, confusion, motivation, pride, cynicism, and most importantly, love.
I’ve seen ice cream trucks, stray dogs, murals, bright houses, gardens, homeless people, parents yelling at children, mothers breastfeeding, hail, wildflowers, dead animals, sunrises (just one really), decayed teeth, court documents, and injustice.
I will always remember children falling asleep in my arms, the joy of my clients learning english, people getting jobs for the first time, learning words in swahili, arabic, farsi, burmese, nepali, and espanol, how much you can communicate without words, screaming children receiving shots, the love and frustration community life brings, how much i grew, laughing so hard i cried, the unconditional love i was given, god’s strength and support, being called mi’ija, aden’s smile, my co-workers, church, and the relationships i formed with kaley and lauren.











































