Costa Rica discoveries: My senior trip was life changing
By Lola Obamehinti, Dallasnews.com

Many schools have made it a tradition to have senior trips. Usually planned during the junior year, they are meant as a great motivator for the senior year. Many hours of fundraising goes into getting prepared or getting that first job to save toward the trip.

Apart from getting away and having fun, I came to realize it is more of a reality check that college is just around the corner, and I will be gone from home. One part of me looks forward to going off to college, but another part does not look forward to leaving home. My senior trip brought this reality into focus for me.

I understand that not every school is able to have senior trips due to the hard work and liability that goes with them, but I think all schools, big or small, should. I think senior trips are great; you really get to know your classmates and teachers, as you never have before. You get to see them for whom they really are. My class just got back from Costa Rica, and it was a life-changing experience for me.

Many people take time to connect with nature, but I have never really savored the outdoors, so my visit to the rain forest brought more than an appreciation for the outdoors. The visit to the rain forest made me value my faith in God. How can one not recognize the divine design behind such natural beauty? The canopy of the trees comes to life from my previous science lesson on biomes. Exotic animals, plants, wild flowers, volcanoes and the breathtaking Costa Rican skies made an impression on my faith in God.

What a huge contrast from our busy and fast-running lifestyle here in America. It seems we're always doing something; however, the calming, relaxing and serene atmosphere of the whole place made me value serenity – a word that we can't compare to text messaging, telephone calls, e-mails and the like. The tranquility was rejuvenating, so much so that it could be compared to a sabbatical.

In our American culture, bigger means better, but that is not always true. Quality, not quantity, is a value that was reaffirmed for me on this trip. We need more of that in our culture.

As my class got the chance to discover the Costa Rican culture, we had the opportunity to eat at local restaurants in the towns of San Jose and La Fortuna. We quickly found out that beans, rice and chicken were a huge part of the culture. When we visited a tiny house where only one lady prepared a meal for 45 people in her small kitchen, we understood the value of quality over quantity. We were mesmerized by the quality of the food and hospitality she was able to provide, without a huge house or kitchen. This lady contributed so greatly to our Costa Rican experience that the lessons learned in her tiny house will never be erased from my mind.

Our visit to an elementary school in Jaco further reaffirmed the value of quality. We saw that the space available for one teacher responsible for teaching multiple grades in one small room did not take away from the quality of what she was giving to each of the students in her care. The students' great appreciation for the supplies our school donated to them was a highlight of our trip. We all had an internal satisfaction, knowing we helped another school stay strong.

I never knew I could appreciate some of life's most simple things – ordinary food, such as cereal, for example – but now I do. As I prepare to embark on a new chapter in my life, I discovered just how much I value my faith, my family, my school and my country, all thanks to the unique opportunities I had on my Costa Rica trip.

Lola Obamehinti is a senior at The North Hills School in Irving and a Student Voices volunteer.