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Volunteering has always been a large part of my life. But it was never that "life-changing", cliche-sounding, tearful experience until I went to Guatemala in 2018. My employer Providence, partnered with Medical Teams International to send employees on service trips to villages in Guatemala. I applied on a whim with a 30 min application and completely forgot about it until months later when I received the email stating I was accepted. I figured the chances of being chosen from the thousands of applicants I assumed were applying was slim to none. But there I was, flabbergasted in my squeaky office chair staring at the words I thought were going to melt off the screen. Skip ahead several long, taunting months of anxiously waiting and waiting. I was on the plane to Guatemala. In San Antonio Beleju, Guatemala, my team built clean drinking water systems for three families. This consisted of a rain water collection (gutter) system that led to a "filter" (not like Americans think of filtered water - but a filtration system consisting of rocks and charcoal to clear large debris). The water then went into a below-ground concrete tank to be stored and we built a hand pump on top. While working, I made relationships with the kids running around wanting to touch the never-before-seen REDHEAD. They all had straight black hair and were fascinated with my long, curly, ginger hair. They'd touch my hair, giggle, and run off or pull on my glistening arm hair. Until finally getting brave enough to braid it and brush it with their fingers. After a few minutes, there were hoards of little boys and girls vying to get hold of my hair and I didn't mind at all. Although we couldn't communicate with each other through words, we communicated through endless smiles and love. By the end of that first day, I felt like I'd known these kids for years and although we'd never spoken, I felt a kinship with them. We spent the next several days working, taking mass amounts of selfies, and laughing about who knows what. I'll never forget these moments and I'm sure they'll never forget seeing and playing with the girl with the fire-y, curly mess of ginger hair.