Defining "It"

I arrived at the Governor’s Scholars Program on June 15 very much alone. Only three kids from my school were on my campus, and I knew only one other person of the 360 scholars on the Bellarmine University campus. Bellarmine was a large pond, and I was a tiny minnow. I was scared, worried, and altogether distraught.

            Then it started.

            What is “it”? It was a spontaneous eruption of friends and fun. It was the exposing of my inner being.  It was a life-altering change in my personality, in my people skills, and in my relationships. I met new people and soon had a group of friends that I could call on for help or advice. I attended classes and learned a variety of new things about journalism in my Mass Media class.

            It allowed me to meet some amazing individuals during my time at GSP. I joined a group of friends and soon we were spending all of our spare time hanging out and meeting other people. We laughed, we cried, we even spent long nights talking on the phone. The friends I met at GSP will truly be my friends for a lifetime.

            But the greatest instance of it for me was meeting Barbie.

I met Barbie at the Mattingly Center for Adults with Disabilities. Barbie needed help doing many everyday activities. She was restricted to a wheelchair, and she had to have someone push her in order to get around.

My General Studies class at GSP did biographies on the patients at the Mattingly Center, and my group was assigned to Barbie. Over three days we got to know Barbie very well, learning about her likes and dislikes, about her friends, and about what she wants to do with her life. Hearing her talk about her desire to get married and have two kids was enough to bring us to tears because we knew that without some kind of miracle, she would never get that opportunity. Barbie was kind, mischievous, and funny all at the same time.

 After visiting with Barbie and telling her story, we were filled with a desire to go back. Personally, I know I will go back to the Mattingly Center. I will go so that it can keep working.

            All in all, it made GSP one of the greatest experiences of my life. Now that I have unlocked it within me, I believe I am ready for the rest of my educational career. I know I can be more outgoing, more personable and friendly. I hope to meet more people in my life like the friends I have made at GSP – and like Barbie. This experience has transformed my life and prepared me for the real world. I left GSP with a new outlook, ready to challenge myself in my daily life.

All I have to do is bring it.