Volunteering

Hello everyone. Today was an alright day. I volunteered at the middle school right by the rec center, and it made me realize how lucky I am. Most of the students there were Hispanic and came from very low income families. I felt pretty bad leaving the school knowing most of them were off to bad homes and families. It made me sad to see the younger girls turn around and smile at me during class, and I knowing that I am only going to be there for a couple weeks. I think they get excited when someone young comes in to help them out. Then I feel guilty just turning around and leaving them. I bet they have that happen to them a lot. Finally someone comes into their life to help them, but then they just turn around and leave. The reason I am volunteering is honestly because I have to for one of my classes. I am almost to the point where I feel so bad that I might end up staying at the school for the rest of the semester just because I want to help out so badly. It was crazy how many questions these kids could have for one person. Where did I come from? What do I do for fun? How do I like school? What do I want to do when I am older? And I even got the, how old are you question, because I look like I am sixteen according to them. They were in awe that I was 20. Considering most of them were at least or taller than me. I asked one of the young girls where she wanted to go to school when she was older. She kind of shrugged her shoulders, as if going to college was not an option for her. Most of them barely could speak clear English. And many had shoes that were torn, or jackets that were ripped. They loved sports though. Especially pro football. One of the girls said she loved U of A football, but has never gotten to go to a game, only has seen it on TV. It is so sad... I wish I could just take them and hang out with them for a while and take them to do the things they have always wanted to do, but never got the option to do. I guess most of us don't appreciate how lucky we are. We have parents who care for us, most of us have some sort of money, at least to pay for college, and we have clothes that aren't ripped or torn. The kids were required to wear uniforms, most complained about. I think it is a good idea though, because it does not show their lack of money. Volunteering is something I have never really participated in. It makes me really appreciate what I have got. I actually enjoy helping out the kids, even though I am not a big fan of kids. I think I am something they can look up to and hopefully make even the slightest positive impression in their life.