Here We Are

The following is a reflection written by Beth Johnson, one of this year's Volunteers living at the South House.

Here we are! The year 2010 is upon us, and to be honest, it’s a year I hadn’t really thought much about before it came knocking on my door just a couple of weeks ago. As the clock struck 12:00 this year, to put it candidly, the thought that ran through my head was, “Whoa--here we go, ready or not-- onto a new decade??!”

The lack of planning may have been due to the fact that 2009 had been such a milestone year for me and many other Amate volunteers. With the goal of graduating college and moving on toward new adventures in mind, perhaps we failed to look beyond the present excitement of our goals playing out. Or maybe it was the fact that the year “20-10” just seemed like something straight out of a movie filled with robots and flying cars…too far off in the distance to really imagine it. But regardless, we are here now, and so far I have enjoyed looking toward the future-- full steam ahead, and with great optimism about what it has to offer each one of us.

Despite the confusion I have experienced in relation to just how it is we got to this point so quickly, I am overwhelmed with the number of new things in my life that I can be so thankful for. The changes I have experienced throughout the latter half of 2009 have brought my life an abundance of new experiences and relationships, and for that I am grateful.

During my time at Amate House, I have been living in the community’s South House, which is located in the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago, and my work has been with preschoolers at the Academy of St. Benedict the African School (A.S.B.A.). This school is located on the west side of the city’s Englewood neighborhood, a neighborhood that faces a tremendous amount of poverty and a prevalent theme of violence.

To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect when I walked into my classroom for the first time in August. Was I even going to like the preschool setting? Would I be patient enough, generous enough, loving enough to meet the needs of my 3, 4, and 5 year old students, some of which are experiencing the school setting for the very first time?

Throughout my time with the 23 children that I have had the cherished opportunity to teach, I can tell you that my fears and anxieties have put to rest, not by walking into this experience with ease, but rather by learning from the lively, patient, ever-loving spirits of my students that not any one person is perfect, but that if we’re in it together, we can make light out of any situation, circumstance, or shortcoming that takes place both in the classroom and out of it.

Many of my students come from backgrounds that I will never be able to fully grasp. Throughout our time together though, I have enjoyed walking alongside them as they grow into, as they say, “big kids!”, or as I see them, into confident, strong-willed, and resilient young people.

It is from them that I have learned the lessons I would like to carry with me into the new year…First that no matter what happens today, there is always the opportunity for a fresh start tomorrow. Second, there is nothing a hug and an honest apology shouldn’t be able to fix, and third, we are all human, we all make mistakes (wet our pants, trip over our snow pants, cry when we wake up from naptime)….so why not treat ourselves and each other with a little extra love?

So, with that, I hope that no matter where this new year finds you, that ready or not, you can move into 2010 with peace in your heart and simplicity in your soul, as you remember to treat yourself gently, just as my preschoolers have so lovingly taught me to do.