Meet Daniel, A Cast Member in Up with People from Mexico!

What made you join Up with People?

I had hosted Promotion Representatives when Up with People came to my city a year ago in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I found out that Up with People was working towards issues that I found important and I wanted to work on myself. Traveling has always been a must for me in the sense of having a deeper understanding in certain issues and really internalizing different ways of thinking.

What has been your favorite part of the program so far?

Above all, my favorite part has definitely the host families. I feel like that’s when we really get to indulge in the cultures of the places we encounter. It’s always a little surprise because you never know what kind of people you’ll be living with for a week. Sometimes you can get some really common people and other times you can have these absolutely amazing people that you wouldn’t have expected.

How does it feel to be in the band for Up with People?

I feel like it’s a cool little group that not a lot of people get to experience. If anything ever happens and something goes completely wrong, you always know your bandmates will be there for you. I guess you can say it’s an instantaneous friendship and bond with some good company.

What are some challenges that you have had so far in the program? How have you overcome them?

For me, I’d say being proactive and trying to be okay with things that you may see unfit or unfair in the program, and working around them. I’d say I’ve overcome them by approaching the people who I find inspiring, most knowledgeable or the best at executing their own traits and talents.

Do you think having a problem with your leg has impacted your experience here?

I think having that issue just changes every experience all together. At some points I realize that it’s helped me gain a lot of different skills, like patience and gaining a perspective of acceptance towards limitations of something that I couldn’t do much about. It does make some aspects of the program a little harder to accomplish. I feel like at this point, it’s a lesson that I’ve already gone through.

Do you think that has made you act differently in the program?

I honestly don’t think so. One thing it does give me at times is inconvenience. There had been times where I was in a lot of pain and had to stop walking to lay down and raise it in the middle of the street. At that point, I can’t really give up my satisfaction or my relief from the pain for someone else’s comfort. It helped me become more okay with myself and allowing myself to have opinions and being on the unpopular side.

What is something you would tell a future Up with People participant?

I think flexibility is undoubtedly the utmost important skill you can have. Not so much in the sense of working, but more so in being willing to learn something from each and every experience. Even if it looks terribly uncomfortable, I think the moment you start to realize that life is so much more than your comfortability, that’s when you can start to fully experience the program.