IN DEE AAH.: We cannot ask children to do things we ourselves refuse to do.

This includes taking risks, following your dreams and most importantly following your heart. I’ve realized that much of what I want for these kids, I’ve only thought about for myself. How can I ask of them something I don’t ask of myself? It’s easy to say these things, but if you really think about it, how many of you have actually taken a risk recently? I think we become content in the safe zones that are our lives and we forget to follow our dreams in fear that we will fail. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since working with the students, it’s that life comes down to doing what makes you happy because at the end of the day, there are so many things around us that we cannot control nor will we ever be able to control them. We have to be happy spending time with the people in our lives, even if that time is spent working on math or writing. We have to find the beauty in being able to share meals with others. We have to appreciate the opportunities given to us and continue to work towards even better ones. We have to be happy in order to keep fighting for the things we want most in life.

I’ve truly been changed because of these students. I feel as though every challenge and rough patch I’ve gone through here as well as in my past, was a way for me to appreciate the amazing things in my life- big and small. Being here has opened my eyes to the lives we don’t see everyday and the difficult circumstances they must live in. And even though all these things happen, the people I have met never fail to smile at me when I smile and say hello. I’m sure many of the students I have worked with could think of a million reasons why not to smile, but the fact that they are willing to come to school and work towards a brighter future shows that they are choosing to have a reason to be happy instead. They are learning that they have potential much greater than they had ever known before. I feel blessed to have seen them finally believe in this and themselves.

Today was my last day at the school and I don’t think I’ve ever had to do anything more difficult in my life than walk away after saying my good-byes. Raju, the young man that I’ve grown closest to, gave me a hug just as I was walking to the car. The people here don’t hug. It’s more a custom to shake hands and that is all. Me being me wanted to hug everyone, but I remembered the last time I thought of doing that one of the students got super stiff. Since then, I’ve kept to hand shakes. It warmed my heart when he hugged me because it was one of the moments where neither of us needed to say anything, but we both knew what we were feeling and thinking. These past few days Raju shared with me more of his hopes and secrets than I could’ve ever imagined. The same way he began to trust me, my heart began to make a special place in it for him. I often keep people at a distance for some time before I allow them in, but with Raju the moment came sooner than any other person in my life. He inspires me to take the risks I encourage him to take in his life. He has taught me so much in such a small amount of time. I believe God put us each in one another’s life this summer for a very important reason. I can finish and leave this project knowing that I have impacted someone’s life.

Below are some pictures from the artwork now displayed in the school house, the COMPLETED library,students finishing their last photo project, some of the younger students in the park and some of the wonderful people I’ve been blessed to work with.

Ram, Devender and Manoj