An Open Letter to My Little Heroes

Dear Project S.O.A.R children and those I had to opportunity to meet in the Buffalo City School District,

Thank you for changing my life.

When I was starting off with AmeriCorps working as a mentor for a non-profit organization called, Project S.O.A.R, I didn't know exactly what to expect. I hadn't been in a school setting for almost eight years at that point. I was a moderately sheltered young woman from the suburbs who was trying to find her purpose in life after becoming a newly single mother. The opportunity that I decided to accept and take on as a mentor will forever be one of the most important decisions I have ever made in my life. The irony is that you were all mentors to me as well. I think about your faces, your hugs, your tenacity, and your resilience as children in an unpredictable, sometimes heartbreaking world, very often. Sometimes those memories put a big smile on my face and sometimes those memories make me cry, because of the depth of how much this experience with you has meant to me. I wonder where you are now, I wonder if you're okay and I wonder if I'll ever run into you someday by chance. I think about giving you a big hug and embracing you. I think about hearing about any updates in your lives and laughing with you once again. I have so much hope for your future.

I was pulled out of my comfort zone and put into a community that I had very little familiarity with. What I didn't know was that there is so much love and kindredship in the places I mistakingly assumed there would not be. You have all taught me so many different things about myself, about who I want to be, and most importantly about what truly matters in this life; connection. I have learned how to have a more diverse sense of humor, I have learned how to be humbled, and I have learned what resilience truly looks like. You taught me how to speak up for myself, how to not give in or give up when I felt something was wrong, and you taught me how to express myself in new ways.

Some of you have traveled across the ocean after escaping war and turmoil. Some of you have lost parents and loved ones at young and vulnerable ages, and have endured pure devastation, that no child should endure. All of this, and you got yourself to go to school almost every day, to smile and to be loving, to have a positive attitude, and to work harder than I may ever personally be able to conjure. If it was a rough day, you made it through and you kept going. Some of you have shown up to school and have tried your hardest to get through the day despite having the heat turned off, or having a parent who wasn't able to love you properly or be there for you when you were in need of support. You have taught me fearlessness and you have taught me strength. Some of you were so loving and considerate that on days when I felt that I couldn't function, your hugs, your smiles, and your genuine kindness healed me.

So, once again, I want to say thank you. Thank you for opening up parts of myself I didn't know were there. Thank you for allowing me to expand my awareness. Thank you for letting me share a part of myself and a part of my life with yours. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for exposing me to the truth and for opening my eyes, and finally, thank you for helping me develop into a more sincere and compassionate person. You will never be forgotten.

All of my love,

Ms. Lauren