Life lessons from Bolivia

As my time in Bolivia comes to an end, I can confidently say the past few days have been some of my hardest. We started our last week of class learning statistics. Spoiler alert- I am absolutely horrible at statistics. I don't understand it. And as hard as I try, I'm not sure if I ever will. For our weekly assignment, we were given a set of five questions to complete by Friday. Should be easy right? Today's Friday and I'm here to tell you that was far from the case. 

After class on Monday we went straight to the cafe, optimistic that with a head start on the assignment we could knock it out. Little did we realize that by Wednesday we would have only completed two of the five problems. Almost three days of working on two problems you can only imagine how overwhelmed we were. Thursday rolls around and I get home from class to find my computers crashed and 99% of my work deleted. It took me a few minutes (ok more like a hour) to compose myself, but with a pep talk I knew the homework had to get done and that I could do it. 

This morning I was confident. It was our last day of class and I was ready to finish this assignment. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but that I could do it. I arrived at the cafe after class, ready to knock our the remaining questions, and I open my computer to a flashing file. This was it. My computer had officially crashed. There was no looking back now-panic was sinking in. I quickly realized that there was nothing I could do. I couldn't fix this problem until I returned to America. I had to step back and let it go. 

Spending four weeks in Bolivia has taught me a lot. Throughout the month we have steadily learned about the many obstacles Bolivia and its people have faced. My personal obstacle dealing with the meltdown of my computer was so trivial in comparison to the trails of Bolivia's past and present history. The country and people of Bolivia don't give up, and through learning its history that's become extremely clear. Being emerged in the rich culture and history of Bolivia for the past month has truly presented me with an immense appreciation for Bolivia and its people. In the United States this is something that so many people, included myself completely take for granted, forgetting about the history and culture that defines our nation- only to get caught up in the minor (and in this case, fixable) obstacles brought upon by material possessions. Bolivia has reminded me that life's not about getting upset over the small things, but rather being grateful and celebrating the big things. And for that I'm eternally thankful.