It was a family tradition that showed me my love for community service. Every birthday, my family would go to the orphanage and spend some quality time with all the kids. As a child, I never truly understood this, I always wondered why we spent something as valuable as time with kids that the world had abandoned. I know it may sound harsh but if you take a five year old kid on their birthday to an orphanage- that is the response you are bound to get.

However, things drastically changed. As I grew older, I realized the meaning of spending time with those kids. Each time I’d go there, I’d feel a sense of happiness I felt nowhere. The kids in the orphanage became my family. I remember, on my 11^th birthday, I decided that just ONE day in a year wasn’t enough time spent with them. Being a year early, I was the smallest in my class. People would never include me and I felt a sense of exclusion. My family at the orphanage made me feel accepted to the point I’d go home and cry and tell my mom that I didn't want to attend school but go to the orphanage every day. It became something I was forced to do to something that I loved doing.

One day, out of the blue, one of the workers in the orphanage (They’re all called “sisters”) told me that I could teach the younger kids. I was ecstatic. Although the first few days I was greeted by the shy side of the younger kids, soon enough they grew comfortable around me. Every kid I met, had so much potential waiting to be tapped on. They weren't just inherently smart and understanding, but they had a great mind and they were eager to fill it with as much knowledge as possible. I was glad to be teaching them because of their nature. Every week a kid would make a beautiful card for me, or kids would continuously tell me that I was a wonderful teacher and they wanted to be like me. I felt a sense of amazement knowing that someone looked up to me.

Helping the Sisters was too something I really enjoyed doing. From cooking to helping them with the infants, all of them would smile and joke and tell me that I was one of their favourite volunteers. These ladies had a huge impact on my life. They taught me how to cook nutritional but lip smacking food that I don’t think I would have ever learned. They gave me life lessons and talked to me about relationships. It was awkward at first, talking to people who’re as old as your mother about your boyfriends, but I soon became comfortable. Helping the infants was my most liked activity. The small little kids had a look of innocence and purity every time I’d change their clothes or clean their diapers. I knew that those kids would do well in life, just by seeing them.

The last time I went to the orphanage was a heart-breaking day. My students all cried and stuck to me in hopes that I wouldn't leave. We clicked a lot of photos, had a lot of fun. Some of the Sisters cried too. It would be an understatement to say that I cried, as Rivers of tears rushed down my cheeks. I wanted to stay, I knew I would do anything possible to stay, but it was impossible. My family was moving away, and I knew it was time to say goodbyes. I remember sitting in the middle of the foyer, with almost all of the people surrounding me. I knew them since I was a small baby, and it was extremely hard for me to come face to face with the reality that it would be the last time I’d see them.

This experience has been one of the most important things I’ve done in my life. I know now that any difficulty life throws at me will never be as big as the one my siblings go through every day. Their personalities has exemplified to me that having a smile on in the darkest of metaphorical thunderstorms in life always helps. It has molded me as a person and it will always be a part of me.