Thanksgiving Day 8: being a Young Ambassador

For three years I had the great opportunity to be stage manager for the BYU Young Ambassadors, a song and dance troupe from Brigham Young University. I am grateful for that experience. With the YAs I traveled the world and the country. I met amazing people all over and had memorable experiences I will never forget that shaped me for the rest of my life.

While touring Southern California we stopped at a home for children that came from abusive homes. After a short performance we spent a couple of hours playing with them. We played sports, a few performers taught some dancing and we helped them forget their troubles. It was awesome even after I superman-ed off the scooter I was riding and sprained my wrist. I wasn’t able to do a lot of heavy lifting the rest of the tour, but I had a blast helping a kid feel loved.

Through Scandinavia, we traveled by bus under and boats over magnificent fjords. We had performances in centuries-old opera houses and schools of rock ‘n roll. I loved the sites but more so the people like the youngest daughter of one of my host families in Norway. The night we got to their home after a performance we had a jam session with all the kids and she danced. The next morning she held her mp3 player to her mouth as she sang every word  to the ABBA songs she was listening to even though she couldn’t speak English.

When we went to Australia, we had the chance to explore cities like Canberra, Sydney and Launceston. I’ve always had a thing for the country and even spent six months there when I was 15. I enjoyed every second even when we were working everyday all day to get ready for our shows.

I’m grateful for my time as a Young Ambassador. I’ll never forget the lessons learned and experience gained.