I asked Carolina de la paz (of the peace) Aparicio, shown here at left celebrating her 22nd birthday, about her dream, obstacles she’s faced, where she is on the path to achieving it and what advice she would give to others with the same dream. Here’s what she had to say:

My dream is to help poor people in need in developing countries and travel. Part of what excites me in traveling is observing other cultures and learning about the ways in which other people find happiness with what little they have. It makes me feel happy and eager to help. In college I got a little taste of my dream by studying abroad in both New Zealand and London and have grown so much from both of those experiences.

For me, the beauty of traveling is getting out of my comfort zone and being in unfamiliar places and discovering the unknown beautiful things all over the world. I’ve always wanted to help people. I was never really exposed to the possibility of being able to help in other countries, so I guess once I went to New Zealand it really opened my eyes.

Money has been the biggest obstacle but I’m working and saving and it’s now just a matter of time. I’ve met so many people who have traveled and have volunteered with different organizations and they have shared glowing stories with me. So even when I do get scared (and I do) I think about those stories and the many possibilities and connections that I will make.

One thing I’d like to share with others with the same dream is to NOT let anything stop you from doing it, whether it be your parents or family who want you to settle down and get a ‘real job’ which I found a lot just having graduated from college. Not mine, but my many of my friends’ parents. Don’t let money stop you. You can always make it and like many things in life, there is always an ebb and flow.

And it doesn’t mean that you have to make your dream your career or life path or permanent life choice. We have many dreams in our lives. In the end if you follow your heart, you will find yourself.  One of the ways I am manifesting my dream is that I’ve bought my plane tickets to many of the countries I want to visit and one of them is Nepal where I will be working for a few months in an orphanage helping children. (Her eyes light up here).

More advice? Make sure you have a concrete goal you are working towards. It will make you even want it more and it will make it real.  It’s funny because right now I’m sitting here talking to you and in a few minutes I will be going to work and it reminds me that everything we do is a little piece of a puzzle that when put together becomes my dream!