Special Olympics

As you may have seen from my many Facebook posts, I was blessed enough to be a volunteer this weekend at Special Olympics at UT Arlington .  Four years ago I volunteered for the first time and absolutely fell completely head over heels in love with the program - the athletes, the coaches, the other volunteers... just everything about it.  It is such a wonderful and eye-opening experience seeing so many talented people come together to compete in sports that they have trained months on end for and I was SO excited to be a part of it this year.

Last time I volunteered at Special Olympics, I learned that everyone has some form of a disability.  For the competitors at Special Olympics, their disabilities are physically seen with handicapped bodies.  However for everyone else (esp. me), our disabilities are indistinguishable from the outside.  I could write a big, long list about all the problems I have but that would be a complete waste of your time, so instead I would rather focus on the lesson that I learned this year as a volunteer...

Loretta Claiborne, a former participant of Special Olympics, gave the Opening Ceremonies speech on Friday night.  She gave an incredible account about how Special Olympics was created by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the 1960's because she was sick and tired of hearing everyone tell these "special" people that they could not compete in sports.  So to prove them all wrong, Shriver organized the first Special Olympics in Chicago, Illinois in 1968 where physically and mentally handicapped people competed in several sporting events.  42 years ago, Loretta Claiborne competed for her first time in Special Olympics despite being told all her life that she could not and that she was not good enough to compete.

I cannot personally imagine nor comprehend how it must feel to have someones, especially someone close to you, tell you that you cannot do something.  In all my life I have never had someone tell me that I could not do something - I was always told and taught that I could do ANYTHING I wanted so long as put my mind to it and worked hard enough for it.  I don't want to brag, but look where I am today - at an amazing college, getting a world class education and about to apply for medical school. I literally have the brightest future anyone could ever ask for and the world at my feet.  Of course it took ALOT of hard work that was not fun at all, but was it worth it? Oh yes, yes it was.

I just want to say that I am SO PROUD of all the amazing athletes I met at Special Olympics this weekend. They are truly the purest and sweetest spirits I have ever met and I need to be more like them.  I know that people, maybe even family members, told these athletes that they couldn't compete because they were not good enough but despite all odds these athletes still chose to compete and you know what? They proved those disbelievers wrong!  I want to encourage everyone who takes the time to read this post to please not listen to your friends, siblings, or maybe even parents who tell you you cannot do something. They are wrong! And most importantly, stop telling yourself that you cannot do something.  You can be your own worst enemy at times, but I KNOW that you can do anything you want so long as you get down on your knees, ask Heavenly Father for help, and put in the effort that is required. Please don't give up and please do not listen to your criticizers.  You can do it - go for the gold and prove to the world that you can.  I'll see ya at the finish line. :)

Adopt-A-Grandparent

Today is my LAST day of classes... 5 finals and I'm done with sophomore year... 2 years and I'll have my Microbiology Bachelor's degree. Dang, time really does fly by, huh? This semester has been the best yet - I've become good friends with some truly amazing girls and have learned so much about me, about life, and about my Savior. I'm SO blessed to go to BYU - yes I don't absolutely love it and I still have a heard time fitting in, but this semester I decided to try something different and spend my extra time volunteering at the nursing home here in Provo instead of wallowing in self pity in the corner. (I promise I don't actually do that!)
Like I've said in previous posts, never in my life have I felt as lonely as I have here at college. I still can't pinpoint the reason why but it's a thorn in my side that causes a constant dull pain. I thought about how pathetic this is - I'm a beautiful, smart twenty year old girl, why on earth am I lonely?!? And then the image was put in my head of all the abandoned grandparents at the nursing home that feel the exact same way as I do. I knew in that moment that I needed to go volunteer at a nursing home, so I joined the Adopt-A-Grandparent program at BYU and a week later I started to volunteer at Provo Rehab and Nursing center. I was put in charge of the Wednesday Movie Night that they had each week and I would go to each patient in their rooms, offer them a bag of popcorn and invite them to watch the movie with us in the Dining Hall. Truthfully, I liked it a lot better than just having one grandparent to visit because I made friend with EVERYONE and I loved seeing everyone's progress throughout the semester. Wednesday night quickly became my favorite night of the week, hands down!
Last week, Dallas was hit with some terrible tornadoes that caused horrible damage and hurt many people. When I went to the nursing home, numerous patients asked me if my family was o.k. because they had seen the tornadoes on the news. I can't even tell you how much that meant to me, that these sweet people had remembered that I was from Dallas and was actually concerned about my family. As college kids, we are tightly wrapped up in our academic lives, but when my dear elderly friends showed their selflessness and concern for my family, it touched the deepest part of my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

This is my last week going to the nursing home before I go back to Dallas for the summer. I am SO SAD to go and not see these wonderful people each week. I've promised a few of them that I would write to them over the summer and hopefully see them again in the fall when I return for my junior year. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve these wonderful people this semester. I want to be like these people - kind, warm, selfless and eager to show my love to others. Some of the patients were only there for rehab and will be gone when I come back, but the mark they have left on my heart will never fade away. When you serve others, your problems become so small and stupid. Honestly, when you focus on other people, you forget about yourself and there is where you will find your true self. I encourage everyone to find some small way to serve someone else each day, even if it's just a smile or a hug. You never know who's heart you will touch.