As we drove further out of the city and up into the mountains, the amount of people rapidly declined. We were driving from Cusco, Peru, to a village called Calipata about four hours outside the city. When we got there, there were about twenty buildings in the valley and many scattered homes across the mountainside. At first glance I felt sympathetic for these people, and looked at the Andean people amongst the streets with pity and sympathy, but this mindset was soon to change. I soon learned that they had their own economy based on livestock. When we asked the villager what they needed most I expected a response related to money, but was suprised to learn that what they most wanted was help with building livestock shelters. By helping build …show more content…
When they need to eat, they kill their eldest sheep. They live off the land, using their animals and crops to survive. I met two older men whose families has lived in this village for their entire lives named Epolitu and Vincente. I asked them about travel outside of the village and they told me that most of the families in the community had not left the village in generations. Their simple and disconnected lifestyles had a certain type of beauty that I had never seen before in the United States. They did not worry about the outside world’s problems because all they needed to live a fulfilling life was a handmade mud brick house, a small farm, and some livestock. I started to think of how these people below the poverty line are seen as underdeveloped and primitive in their ways of living, when in fact they are living a far greater life than I ever thought was possible. I felt a true sense of happiness and satisfaction in this village that did not come from excessive wealth or material …show more content…
I used to think businessmen and those with desk jobs were accomplished and happy, but now when I look at these people I wonder if they are making themselves happy or if they are waiting for happiness to find them. When first thinking about college I thought I would get a business or engineering degree because it’s the practical thing to do but now I think why not study something that I am truly passionate about such as marine biology or environmental science. I used to think that I would find happiness in a steady job that pays well but after visiting the small village in Cusco, Peru I now know that I need to make my own happiness. My goal in life is no longer to achieve great success and great money, but to instead find true happiness in doing what I love and share this love with everyone around