Adventure | Operation Smile: Trip to San Diego

Next week I am off to the US for mission training (to be a student journalist on a medical mission) and the International Leadership Conference. I am extremely excited, as I haven't been to the US before, aside from Atlanta airport when I went on my last mission to Mexico.

Operation Smile is extremely important to me, and being able to get involved with lots of people from all over the world in a completely different continent is very exciting. I get to spend 11 days with people who share the same passion as me, while having fun and gaining beneficial skills that will last me a lifetime. It's a charity that gives great importance to their Student Programs, ensuring that young people learn the important skills needed to lead in the future. The conference is a fantastic opportunity to gain these skills and for us, as young people, to make the world a better place (one smile at a time!). 

I have been to three conferences, two local Irish ones (2011/2012), and an international one in 2014. I love how everyone there is so willing to help and are so invested in it. To me, there is no question about volunteering, it's almost instinctive, as I have grown up involved in the charity, and as I was born with a cleft myself. Operation Smile is amongst my favourite things in life (next to musical theatre, fandoms and chocolate of course!), and I don't know what I'd do without it! It's true that sometimes I think that my life would have been easier without being born with a cleft, but then I think about how I wouldn't be volunteering for Operation Smile, at least not to the extent that I do now. Maybe I would have gotten involved in another charity, but, like everything else, there's no knowing what my life would have been like. It is then that I conclude that without my cleft, some of the most amazing experiences I have had have been with Operation Smile.

I am especially excited for my trip next week, and everything OpSmile have to throw at me. I will get to be in a whole new country, and get to meet new people, and some old ones. I will learn things, brush up on some things I already know, and come home with skills that I will have for the rest of my life. Most of all, I will have fun doing something I love. It's going to be a great experience, and I can't wait to see all the terrific surprises they have for us!

Sarah xxx