Our bodies are starting to wear out. Our minds are imploding. We are in the midst of the wear and tear of the MEPI program. But our will remains as strong as it were the day we set foot on American soil. Our spirit remains relentless as we restlessly, and with a mild bitterness in our hearts, push through our last days of the program.
On Wednesday, July 23rd, we embarked on yet another community service excursion, as we washed the tiredness off our faces, took a long deep breath and made our way to the Hilltop Lutheran Neighborhood Center. We were embraced with a warm welcome and a little introduction presentation on the Community Center, its history and what it does. A while after, in we walked on the most innocent beings you will ever set eyes on. Playful and joyful, I bluntly began to realize how the innocence of a child can save a life. How it can make someone’s day. The innocence of a child. It is almost overwhelming. It is almost mundane. Sadly, as we grow older, we forget what it means to be innocent. We forget how we used to see the world stripped of its flaws, positive, joyful. We get so caught up in our own malaise that we forget to see the greener side of the grass. Katy’s eyes as she looked up to me, asking me to take her for another plane ride(I was lifting her pretending she was a plane); that, is the innocence of a child.
For me, it is essential of a leader to have that sense of modesty, that humbleness you only see in the eyes of a child. Some may view it as a weakness, I believe it is quite the opposite.
All in all, I definitely learned a lot today, not that it is to my surprise! And the day was perfectly concluded with Dr. French’s cool lecture and activity on leadership and her amazingly useful presentation tips.
Tomorrow we leave for New York so.. yay!
– Hameed