"When I graduated from high school, I took a year off to volunteer in South America with an NGO who raised money and built homes for families who were impacted by a devastating earthquake the year before. I had seen an advertisement asking for volunteers and spontaneously decided to go. I went to a Spanish-speaking country only knowing a handful of Spanish words. I traveled by bus from town to town, hitchhiked with some other volunteers, and slept on the dirt under tarps with the families we were building houses for. I had never even picked up a hammer before I started my volunteer work. After 1 year, I spoke Spanish almost fluently, helped build 50 homes, and made many friends with whom I still keep in touch. It was the best year of my life and made me grow so much as a person."