2023.03 -- US Storybook 2022 updated 4.14 - Flipbook - Page 53
Brooklyn with Nathan, and hear more about South Africa in an
unstructured space, is not lost on Julia. She cites PeacePlayers’ core
value of inside out transformation: “[Global connections] brings the
idea of how different we could see things, how new things that we
didn’t know before could actually be learned, and how we could accept
learning new things… talking to other people and having different
connections with other people that can really help with your mindset
and make you view things differently.” Julia notes how this inside out
transformation, the learning she’s gained from Nathan and her global
peers has contributed to how she sees herself as a leader. “[It’s] showed
me how I can not just be a leader to my friends and family but for
generations to come in my community.”
Creating and maintaining personal connections that were forged at
the Friendship Games is important, but why? Why focus on these
global relationships? There is something deeper than just meeting up
with a new friend. “We are a family; a second family for real. Like the
values and the experiences that we had at PeacePlayers, they’ve really
brought us together, like super tight. So if there’s ever a PeacePlayer
that needs something from me, it’s going to be given to them because
I know what kind of person they are. And I know that coming from
PeacePlayers,”
PEACEPLAYERS UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
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