By Katelyn Carnes

On the 23rd, we traveled to Lake Atitlán. The Airbnbs we rented all had beautiful views, and the mountains surrounding the lake looked painted on. But even with all the amazing views, the moment that stayed with me did not come from the lake or the view off the balcony, it came from an upstairs window in front of the stairs of the girl town Airbnb that showed me two completely different lives side by side.

One morning, I was walking up the stairs and noticed a window at the top, but I kinda laughed to myself because it was in such a pointless spot since the wall ended 3 inches to the right of it and the rest of the area was completely open to outside. It caught my attention so I went to go look at its view. Right below it was the home of the family who lived next door, except their home looked nothing like ours. Their house was tiny, worn down, and built from all different materials that had clearly been through years of harsh weather. From where I stood, I could see their whole life happening in a space smaller than my living room back home.

That moment had me frozen for a minute, staring. It felt strange standing in this big beautiful Airbnb with my friends, while right outside our window was a family whose entire world looked completely different from ours. It made me feel guilty, like I was placed above them, physically and in status.  Even though I didn’t do anything to earn my  lifestyle. It was just the reality of where I was born that made the difference.

But what surprised me the most was that none of the locals treated us with jealousy or bitterness. They didn’t act annoyed or bothered by the fact that Americans were staying in the “nice houses” on their lake. Every person we met treated us with kindness. They smiled at us, talked to us, and helped us even when we didn’t speak perfect Spanish. Watching how they lived with so much gratitude stood out to me.

Being there, seeing all of this up close instead of reading about it or seeing it online, made me realize how much I take for granted without even noticing. Clean water, my own bedroom, AC, a car, a reliable bathroom… all the things I don’t even think about for more than two seconds. Meanwhile, people here wake up every day and live life with joy, with community, and with gratitude long before they ever care about the stuff we think we need in our lives to be happy.

And honestly, I think learned more from that window than anything else on the trip. It made me appreciate what I have, but it also made me admire the people who don’t have those things but still choose to be kind, welcoming, and have hope for what’s to come. I’m grateful I got to see their lives up close, even just for a second, because it reminded me that the world doesn’t revolve around what you own. It revolves around how you view life.

I went to Guatemala expecting a fun experience, I didn’t expect a moment from an unnecessary upstairs window to change the way I think about my life. Now that I’m back home, I’m trying to remember that feeling and not forget. Gratitude shouldn’t just be something we only think about on holidays or when something good happens. It should be something we notice in the small moments too, the ones that make us pause, look around, and realize how lucky we really are.