Monday (03/16)

The day began with calm and quietness as the sun was shinning brightly everywhere. When I saw the morning delight that was enfolding in front of me, my mood immediately lifted, and the stress that I had been carrying around dissipated. After having breakfast with my group, I was doing the excursion of Columbia, South Carolina without even realizing that I was about to embark on my first service of the trip. Walking around the downtown area reiterated my perception that South Carolina was definitely not Maryland. Churches of different kinds were popping up every corner, and the weather of the place reminded me of the arrival of spring, a stark contrast with the harsh winter I had been experiencing in Maryland. As my group was getting more and more into the explorer mode, I noticed a shift in the attitude of the group as a whole, where we became more open to each other and allowed jokes to drift between one another. The lunch time, consisting of sloppily made ham sandwich and carrot dipped in yogurt, came around noon. By that time, I knew I was excited and anxious simultaneously because of my anticipation of the unknown, a service event at children shelter.

I tried my best to picture the different situations that I might be facing at the shelter. As my thoughts about the shelter permeated through out my mind, I started to rehearse how my interaction with the kids should consist of. Someone in my group blurted out that we had finally arrived at the shelter, pulling me back from my deep thoughts to the present. Walking into the house, I readied myself for the scenarios that I had been conjuring up in my mind. I, however, was not prepared for the calmness that I experienced in the house. The calmness just might be from only having a few kids present in the house at that time, but my mind began to feel at ease. After the introduction to the house and to the kids, I was ready to assist the kids in any way I can. Interacting with one of the older high school kids made me realized that she was in need of assistance with her Algebra 2 homework. I knew I would have to try to remember all the concepts of Algebra 2 if I were to help her. I luckily managed to accomplish that goal, which gave me a chance to interact with her for extended amount of time. As I became more familiar with her, I realized that all the kids in the house cared for each other even though they might not display it fully all the time. My biggest accomplishment that day would have to be learning more about the lives of the children who were in shelter system.

Based on my experience of interacting with the kids, I had learned to take the values from life as they were instead of fretting on every little detail because the issues that I tended to face became inconsequential compared to these kids'. My time with these kids was short, but I was glad that I was given an opportunity to interact with them on a day filled with sunshine and newly formed friendships. Even though each day on this trip offered me unique and intriguing experience, I can honestly say that I will be remembering my time with these kids for a long time.