Reggie’s Blog – “Goodbyes, New Beginnings, and Pride!”

Saying goodbye is always hard; even if it is saying goodbye to people you have only known for 10 days. Today, week one of Hero Holiday Dominican Republic came to an end. This meant that all of the volunteers and some of the staff had to head back to Canada. This was emotional and hard for the staff and interns who are staying here in DR for another two weeks. I found it especially hard to say goodbye to the team I have became so close with over the past 10 days. I have had countless, in-depth conversations with this team, especially with certain individuals, which makes me feel like I have know some of them my entire life. Like always, I look at the situation more positively. For me, the end of this trip is the beginning of many friendships. It will be interesting to see where all of these friendships go. I have a hope that I will be able to keep in touch with most of the friends I have made and strengthen the relationships. I look forward to visiting certain individuals and some individuals potentially visiting me. It has been an interesting, fun, and amazing 10 days. I would not change anything about it. I am extremely pleased about the amount of respect and acceptance our group had for each other. I feel that this has allowed me, along with others on the team, to grow. As I watched the bus pull away and I waved at many of my friends leaving with it, I began to reflect on who each of those people were when they came here and who they are now. Everyone has changed, clearly in a positive way. I am very proud of our group! Everyone worked super hard, putting every bit of physical and emotional strength, and love that they had into each day!