By Mauricio Vallarta Peña

Before starting I would like to thank the school, my family and specially my parents for giving me all the opportunities to go and explore the world.
If you’re given such opportunities, take them.

Now the trip is over, we are flying back on our way to Washington. Going back home and taking back our lives to what they are, or what they were. Disregarding that I believe everything will be something new. From the stories we will be telling to our family and friends of such trip and all that we experienced, to the way we see how our world is shaped like, and why it is shaped like that.

In a way India at least in the trip is full of discomfort from the places where we sleep, the way we eat and how we fill our basic necessities. Many of us and in most part of the trip we could say if we wanted that it’s discomfort, or it is different from what we know and what we are used to, but personally looking back to the days we spent in Agora, and camping in our way to Dodital and Darwa Top I find myself and I believe all of us in our most natural aspect were doing what we are ment to. Going back to our natural setting. And still I struggled after days of sickness, a lot of outdoors activities, learning by doing and helping, and meeting the difficulties of a place, but most important its people.

I learned the way of community and its real importance, the places and how not a place changes, but its people and the the places.

Getting to know a unique and beautiful place as Agora with its significance for a religion, and all the people that live there made me comeback to what I find as a purpose. As I get to know the world and all the places that I’ve visited I observe the infrastructure with enjoyment, the way everything is build and in what purpose. Giving my opinion of if it’s rather a place with hope and ready to prosper or if it’s not. And in my way of looking at it is easy to understand it, of course also the way people interact. And looking at India right in this moment makes me fear of if its prospering and they will succeed into building a country over strong pillars, or not. If its is still being though of a place where people interact everywhere they go as a big community or if it will create the sense of a selfish society. How is your relationship with your neighbor? How often do you interact with them? How often do you see your family and friends? As often as you would like? All of this questions make me think of caring and thinking of what’s important, not that car, not that house, but all of our community, the people we love and the people we are surrounded from.

For people in Agora that’s their reality, and if they need help to build a house, or the farm in not going well, they all have a community that no matter what will have their back. All while the women are cooking and farming, the kids play and hangout, and the men have many different jobs, and all of the are really happy. And being part of it also brought me a lot of happiness and memories I will never forget.

Now I just hope and set my mind for the new stage in life that I’m facing. For me and for the place I can affect to find the things I believe are true comfort and purpose within communities, with infrastructure, and with people. To help, to change people and places, and if possible to change the world. Isn’t that what we all have the chance to work towards? One purpose.