Spring break. A time to get wasted and not deal with the consequences of bad decisions. As a second semester senior at UNC-CH I was desperate for a spring break. School had been kicking my tail and it marked the beginning of the victory lap. Except my break would take me to a country I could barely find on a map, a place that I’d never heard of hidden in Honduras. My senior year I decided to travel with the Dental Brigades and serve the country of Honduras. Specifically, a campo located in El Narajanal. Trading my right to take shots and instead serve others.
Honduras was a complete mystery to me, all I knew was that I was going somewhere and I would be cleaning teeth. After a short plane ride and six hour van ride through a city of stacked houses (Tegulcigalpa) into the forbidden land, we finally arrived at a community house. An isolated building that was waiting to show us a new way of life. The landscapes were beautiful and the people filled with the soul of the world.
This trip taught me what another life could be like, how despite them not having the same opportunities as us doesn’t mean that their life is hard or they’re hopeless. No their dreams are just on a different level than ours and as humans we should respect that. One girl’s dream was to see the snow in New York City just once in her life. Another child gave me a sticker of Saturn and it still sits on the hood of my 55-200mm lens, as a reminder to the time I spent in a new space. Life was different, but it was still life; and all of a sudden I wanted to be a part of it. Our days were simple, wake up breakfast->hop on the bus-> unpack and set up for the day-> clinic-> lunch->clinic->break (to learn spanish from locals or chat)->drive home-> play soccer->shower ->eat dinner->drink, read, dance and talk->go to bed. It was simple, but it was refreshing, to be lost in the moment of things.
I really ask that you do look through these images, this experience was simple yet extremely gratifying. And with that comes pictures that were taken from the heart so I’d attest to them being my favorite pictures.
The Golden Moment 