I came to East Villagers not knowing what to expect. Questions had flooded my mind previously on the activities we would do, what I would learn, and how I would be helping to fight the social injustices in this world. Joining the East Villagers program, was like being cordially invited into a family. The other interns are so funny and enthusiastic, and I am so grateful to be able to share this journey along with them. 

At the start of the program, we were assigned service oriented blogs, focusing on researching topics within global justice. My topic was the lack of health care resources in China. The more I researched, the more I was shocked. I live in a society where I am given freedom for healthcare, yet in the rural areas of China, people are limited to their resources, even having to line up early in the morning at the hospital just to make an appointment for the next day. More instances like this began to appear week after week, during my time at East Villagers. There was so much more things in my life that I began to appreciate. I felt fortunate to be able to live the life I had been given. I remember before how I would consistently say "I hate my life" or "my life sucks", yet I don't take the opportunity to notice that my life is actually great. I have a mother and father, both healthy and working. In addition, whenever I walk into a hospital, I am always guaranteed a doctor to fix my health problems. 

Another requirement after becoming an East Villager's intern is writing to our pen pals. As I wrote my letter to my pen pal, Fangdi, I noticed in her biography the amount of opportunities she had lost, and the amount of pain she had suffered through her illness, Congenital Heart Disease. As I scanned through her photos, I even saw a smile as she laid there in the hospital bed. The photo was touching, making me realized that this very picture was the reason I wanted to become a part of East Villagers. In order to gain the ability to become humble towards others, and help contribute into doing something that does not benefit myself, but others. As a East Villagers intern, for nearly two months, I look forward to the future months I will experience on my EV journey. Keeping and open and humble perspective, I hope to impact the lives of others as well as my own.