The border is a complicated and sometimes, intense place. One way to wind down after a long, heavy day was to hang out with my incredible Backpack family. While we were there to learn, we laughed a lot and made memories that I will smile about forever. In the style of one of my favorite movies, 10 Things I Hate About You, here are the 10 things that I “hated” about this experience:

1. I hated stepping outside of my cooking comfort zone.
2. I hated the way my dance moves looked on Snapchat.
3. I hated losing my breath from laughing too hard on the long van rides.
4. I hated the deflated beds that created so many jokes in our room.
5. I hated being caught as a member of the “mafia” during our silly game.
6. I hated how my classmates cheated at Tenzi.
7. I hated the way we all looked out for each other.

8. I hated the pressure of picking the perfect song when I had the aux cord.
9. I hated how my cheeks would hurt from smiling during our hilarious dinner chats.
10. But mostly I hated the way I didn’t hate it, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.