GROWING FROM COMPASSION

When it came time to sign up, I picked five sites close to my home that didn’t seem too challenging. Admittedly, I wanted an easy commute and “to get it over with” because I thought I had so much else to do. I wasn’t thinking about it as a learning opportunity but as just another thing that looked good on college applications. Auspiciously, I wasn’t matched with any of my choices. Instead, I was assigned to Laredo Middle School’s Special Education program. How fortunate that was, because in just two “mandatory” weeks, the experience ended up completely changing my perspective on how I want to live my life.

 

Laredo is only ten minutes away from Regis Jesuit, but it feels like a different world. I worked with children with severe special needs including cerebral palsy, low IQ, autism and epilepsy. I had never met kids like these, and they were not that “easy” experience I was looking for, so it was a huge eye-opener. A seventh-grader threw up his lunch on me, another pulled my hair. I had to calm down a screaming student, and one even fell on top of me.

Despite all these unglamorous incidents, every day was beautiful! The more I got to know the kids, the closer I got to them and looked forward to seeing them every day. Kids I taught functional math would sincerely thank me for helping them. A non-verbal girl smiled glowingly at me. One boy, whom a teacher said admired me, gifted me with drawings.

The primary lesson I learned from my Service Project experience was evident—nothing more meaningful than making human connections with people we never thought we would ever encounter and come to appreciate. Nothing is more beautiful and fulfilling than making people happy. The kids and staff I worked with are forever a part of my heart now. I cannot wait to go back and volunteer there again when the next school break comes. This experience challenged every aspect of me, from what I knew about kids with severe special needs, to what I myself believed I could physically do. Now I think that the rewards that come from serving others are worth more than gold.

So the next time you go out to serve, I challenge you, my fellow students especially, to think beyond it being just for your college application or to meet some requirement. Think of it as a chance to grow. Push yourself to do something you never thought you would or could do and see how it feels. Truly open your heart and mind up to the beauty of service with and for others. I promise you, it’s going to be worth it!