time i've felt alive
Feeling alive is more than just feeling the soft rhythm of your chest expanding and compressing, knowing your heart is pumping. It is about feeling vivid, feeling completely satisfied; feeling like everything in the universe is perfectly aligned. When I think of times I’ve felt alive, I instinctively think of one thing. It’s the times when I have felt the happiest. It’s the times where it didn’t matter what else was going on in my life, I could always smile. It’s the times that I was around children. Those little bundles of joys with so much enthusiasm and so much innocence warm my heart. I learn so much from them by watching them interact with each other and with the world. Kids have such a curious manner about them that being around them makes me cherish the small things in life. It allows me to step back from the chaos and be a kid again.
This passion started when I used to volunteer in the nursery at church. It started as just being available whenever they needed extra hands, but soon, I made a commitment to volunteer once or twice a month during service. I still remember the first time I volunteered. A 5 year old boy named Peter said the cutest thing. He said, “You know why I wear cargo pants?” I replied, “No, why?” “Because cool kids wear cargo pants, and I’m a cool kid!” Kids seem to find the good in everything, and that’s what I strive to do in my own life as well. From there, I went on to become a part of the program Book Buddies, which was held at my old elementary school. The program focused on helping 5th graders that needed a little extra help with reading so they may pass their SOLs at the end of the year. Every mentor was assigned a fifth grader they read with the entire year. The first year I did it, the boy I was assigned with was such a joy. He used to get so excited to share his stories that we would stop many times in between reading, but of course I didn’t mind. I was just as excited to hear the stories as he was to share. The following year, I was assigned to another 5th grader, who though wasn’t as enthusiastic to share, he still ended up talking a lot and we formed a good relationship. I used to love to have them tell me what they remembered reading from last class or their predictions for the rest of the book. I would look forward to the weekly meetings just as much as they did. Even though both years, I never did find out how the kids did on their SOLs, I could tell they had improved from the beginning.
Once I came to college, I knew I wanted to stay involved with kids. I started mentoring through the YMCA at a local elementary school, Margaret Beeks. They Y sponsors an afterschool program there that doesn’t focus primarily on homework. Though there is time set aside for homework, completion isn’t necessary. Time is allotted for activities and snack time as well. I found that the kids loved sharing their high’s and low’s of their day. Honestly, I think the kids wanted attention, someone to actually focus on them individually and I gladly gave it to them. They continually made me laugh and smile as the girls had so much sass and the boys picked on the mentors. I had originally gone into this program knowing that I was going to switch to another one of the YMCA’s programs shortly. I was surprised at what was to come though. As I started to get to know the kids, relationships formed faster than what I expected. I found that the kids remembered my name, wanted me to sit with them or play with them.
Some may ask, how is being around kids community service? If you aren’t helping them academically or teaching them how to play a sport, how exactly am I helping? I believe I am helping kids grow. Kids need love and interaction to fully develop. I don’t know the home life of these kids. I don’t know the relationships they have with other adults, parents, siblings, friends. I don’t know if they are properly cared for, emotionally or physically. All I know is that they can never have too much love. Sometimes it isn’t the easiest, I’ve realized this at Margaret Beeks. When kids misbehave and don’t listen to authority, it is easy to quickly punish them and blame them, but kids just require more patience and effort. I feel alive every time I’m around kids because it’s like watching a garden grow. You add in the water and the sun, and wait for them to blossom to their full potential. Some may ask, if my love for kids is this big, why don’t I pursue a career in it? Well, I am bad at explaining things and frankly, I don’t want to teach kids academics. I want to teach them morals, values, and importance.
This passion started when I used to volunteer in the nursery at church. It started as just being available whenever they needed extra hands, but soon, I made a commitment to volunteer once or twice a month during service. I still remember the first time I volunteered. A 5 year old boy named Peter said the cutest thing. He said, “You know why I wear cargo pants?” I replied, “No, why?” “Because cool kids wear cargo pants, and I’m a cool kid!” Kids seem to find the good in everything, and that’s what I strive to do in my own life as well. From there, I went on to become a part of the program Book Buddies, which was held at my old elementary school. The program focused on helping 5th graders that needed a little extra help with reading so they may pass their SOLs at the end of the year. Every mentor was assigned a fifth grader they read with the entire year. The first year I did it, the boy I was assigned with was such a joy. He used to get so excited to share his stories that we would stop many times in between reading, but of course I didn’t mind. I was just as excited to hear the stories as he was to share. The following year, I was assigned to another 5th grader, who though wasn’t as enthusiastic to share, he still ended up talking a lot and we formed a good relationship. I used to love to have them tell me what they remembered reading from last class or their predictions for the rest of the book. I would look forward to the weekly meetings just as much as they did. Even though both years, I never did find out how the kids did on their SOLs, I could tell they had improved from the beginning.
Once I came to college, I knew I wanted to stay involved with kids. I started mentoring through the YMCA at a local elementary school, Margaret Beeks. They Y sponsors an afterschool program there that doesn’t focus primarily on homework. Though there is time set aside for homework, completion isn’t necessary. Time is allotted for activities and snack time as well. I found that the kids loved sharing their high’s and low’s of their day. Honestly, I think the kids wanted attention, someone to actually focus on them individually and I gladly gave it to them. They continually made me laugh and smile as the girls had so much sass and the boys picked on the mentors. I had originally gone into this program knowing that I was going to switch to another one of the YMCA’s programs shortly. I was surprised at what was to come though. As I started to get to know the kids, relationships formed faster than what I expected. I found that the kids remembered my name, wanted me to sit with them or play with them.
Some may ask, how is being around kids community service? If you aren’t helping them academically or teaching them how to play a sport, how exactly am I helping? I believe I am helping kids grow. Kids need love and interaction to fully develop. I don’t know the home life of these kids. I don’t know the relationships they have with other adults, parents, siblings, friends. I don’t know if they are properly cared for, emotionally or physically. All I know is that they can never have too much love. Sometimes it isn’t the easiest, I’ve realized this at Margaret Beeks. When kids misbehave and don’t listen to authority, it is easy to quickly punish them and blame them, but kids just require more patience and effort. I feel alive every time I’m around kids because it’s like watching a garden grow. You add in the water and the sun, and wait for them to blossom to their full potential. Some may ask, if my love for kids is this big, why don’t I pursue a career in it? Well, I am bad at explaining things and frankly, I don’t want to teach kids academics. I want to teach them morals, values, and importance.