This experience has allowed me to grow and change in so many ways. I was submerged into a topic that I knew of, but didn’t fully understand. My project allowed me to connect with a variety of people that shared their stories and taught me a lot about life. Not only did I learn about business and energy, but how to react to what life brings. The people I had the pleasure of meeting appreciated the simplest things and treated everyone they knew and met with respect and as equals. This is very different from the United States; it seems people have lost sight of what is important for happiness and tend to be closed off when meeting new people. This was eye opening to me, and I have tried to adapt this outlook in the few weeks I have been home. I hope I can have a similar perspective to life and other individuals through my studies, career and future.My project also pushed me more than I thought possible. I have never more motivated to succeed, and not for my grade or personal benefit but for the benefit of others. This work allowed me to see that I can do something much bigger than myself and make a difference. Going into this experience, I knew I wanted to have a career with wastewater treatment and water pollution as I want to improve the marine life habitat.  However, I have always envisioned myself to work for a preexisting organization. After this project revolving around entrepreneurship, I have started to think about creating my own organization for marine life conservation.

Living in Cape Town for two months is the best adventure I have had and I cannot wait to go back. While completing my project, I looked into graduate programs offered at some of the universities in Cape Town and found some with Land and Water Conservation programs. Therefore, I hope to live in Cape Town again after my undergraduate to continue my studies there. Once my studies have been completed, I hope to be an entrepreneur, just like the women I worked with in my project, and create an organization to improve marine life habitats in South Africa.

I was challenged throughout this project and was able to accomplish something that I never thought I was capable of doing. It has created new hopes and dreams for my future, but most importantly, it has given me a new outlook on life. This new perspective is a little piece of Cape Town that I brought home and will carry with me until I go back.