Written Reflection 1

My second time volunteering at Step by Step started out a lot like the first. After sitting around for a while with no kids showing up in the 5+ room, I started to worry that none were coming. Eventually, however, two rambunctious boys showed up. They proceeded to devour more food in a meal than I could eat in a day!

Figurative representation of how much the boys ate

Although the boys were energetic and did not particularly enjoy the attention showered on them, the evening looked to be fairly calm ... until a volunteer showed up, breathlessly announcing that more  workers were needed in the infant room. I volunteered as tribute, and was ushered into a room with four one-year-old babies crawling around a single teenage helper.

Once children reach the age where they can talk, I am good at working with them. I can read them stories, sing them songs, and teach them games. When they're at the age where they only stare and crawl around and cry at the drop of a hat, I do not do very well with them at all, mostly because I have so little experience with them. Despite this, I determined to give my best effort. I smiled and crawled in.

How working with babies makes me feel

At first it was strange, but gradually the crawlers took notice of me. They crawled over, and I picked them up when they cried. They laughed and laughed when I knocked a block off my head.  By the end of the night, I no longer felt like a monkey in Antarctica. One-year-olds are no longer so frightening, and I know that I helped them to have a good night. They helped me more, however, by teaching me the importance of facing my fears - no matter how small - in order to do good.