Personal Narrative Essay: The Most Life-changing Journey

The most life-changing journey I have ever been on took place in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. It was the craziest thing I have ever experienced, in a good way. There were many things that made the trip difficult for me: leaving at two in the morning, a seven-hour plane ride next to a stranger, COVID, and more. These barriers, however, made the trip memorable.

We ended up having to leave Chillicothe at two in the morning to get to the airport on time. I did not sleep a single hour because I was so anxious; it was like everything hit me all at once. Once we got to the airport, I figured out I had to sit by myself on the plane. I was already so anxious, and it made me cry. I immediately wanted to end the trip and go home. It took me about ten minutes to realize that I was not going on this trip for me, but for God. I remembered it was a mission trip, and I was not going to be able to be comfortable the entire time. I had to remind myself of this many times throughout the trip. After arriving in Puerto Rico, we had an hour’s drive to where we were staying, Juana Diaz. It was amazing because our camp was on the beach. We arrived near eleven at night, and everyone gave us such a warm welcome. We all instantly felt the love there. We got to worship outside in the dark while listening to the waves crash on the beach; it was something people see in movies. This entire trip was like a movie. The next day we got to meet everyone, and the leaders told us what we will be doing throughout the week. They reminded us that we were there strictly to serve God and not really for ourselves; then they announced the kinds of jobs we would be fulfilling with other random people from camp: roofing houses, tearing houses down, building houses, and other challenging tasks. At this moment, I honestly wanted to go home because I do not normally enjoy doing those things. I had never even dreamed of unroofing and roofing a house or tearing down a house especially with people I did not really know. Sure enough though, after I got comfortable and made friends, we all worked as hard as we could. I never really had a dad to teach me how to do outside job kinds of things, but they all were patient with me and taught me. Feeling that impact of everyone being so patient with me really inspired me to watch myself and be patient with others. Our group finished roofing and unroofing a house in just two days. Now, the houses there are not huge, but we were out there in one-hundred-degree weather from six to three; our construction leader was so impressed by us, so he got us another job right away. Besides all of the hard work, the family that lived in the house we worked on, was out there every day with us. Her name was Sonia and she really loved me and told everyone she was going to keep me there with her. She and her family were awesome; they cooked us meals every single day and offered us everything they had despite them not having very much. The next family we got, we had to completely tear down their mother’s house. Her mother had died, and they did not have the money to fix the house: the floors were falling, there was mold everywhere, and everything was overgrown. We started moving and saving everything we could out of the house and then we tore it down. This family thanked us by coming to visit and cooking meals for us also; they even had a puppy that would come visit us. During our construction work, I really got to know the people in my group, and I even opened up about my life back home. We cried, bled, and all laughed together that week. While we were not working on the house though, some of us would go on prayer walks. Prayer walks are where people go walk door to door and pray for other people. Throughout our walks, we reached many people who loved our company. Though everything sounds like it went smoothly and nicely the entire time, it did not. One time on a prayer walk, one of the kids in my group had a knife with him to cut mangos; he was messing around and deeply cut his finger. We had to cut the prayer walk short and run back to the worksite to get help. Another time, one of the other kids stepped on a nail. Because he was homeschooled, he had not updated his tetanus shot. After that happened, we had to get him to the hospital to get his shot. The last big event was someone getting so sick from not drinking water and being in constant sun and heat all day. I am so thankful because things could have been so much worse. 

Other than hard work, we also got to mess around. We would get to go swimming on the beach every single day, we worshipped, we got to talk and make new relationships, we got these things called frappes, and did so much more. While doing all those random things, I made so many friends and it was so easy to get along with and love everyone around me. 

I will never forget what one of the Puerto Ricans had said to me when I asked why everyone wore their masks if the COVID numbers were next to none; he said “Because Puerto Ricans love Puerto Ricans.” I asked this because I never saw a single person complaining about wearing their masks, and every single person always wore it in public; that was rare in the states. What he said hit me hard. It made me reflect on my life in the states and realize that here people do not act like they love each other as much. It is not just about masks, but Americans do not even open their homes to others as freely. When I went on that trip, Puerto Ricans dropped everything to help me and my surrounding friends, they welcomed us, they made us feel like a part of their families, and they offered their homes. Many of them even offered to have us come back and stay with them. This trip, or journey, really opened my eyes and showed me how I want to be seen. It made me love harder, not take for granted the things I am given or already have, and it also made me realize that being selfless is not a bad thing. The biggest thing this trip taught me was that I want to love how Puerto Ricans love.