Last summer, I went to South Africa with Projects Abroad and taught 4 and 5 year olds in a township at Butterfly Way Educare. Most of these children, and other people of the township, lived in temporary structures made out of cardboard and other spare materials. Not a day has gone by that I don't think of the group of children that I quickly began to refer to as my "kids."

First and foremost, my love and gratitude goes out to everyone who made this journey possible for me. My incredible host family the Benjamin's, the one of a kind program that is Projects Abroad and the person who makes the children's care possible, Penny Way. Penny established a non-profit center and with very little help and an even less funding, she creates a safe haven for these children that they are unable to receive any where else.

And now, to the kids that changed my life,

It is possible that telling you guys goodbye was one of the hardest emotional challenges I have ever had to face. I miss each one of you every day and I frequently look at the picture of the entire class and go down the line saying your names so that I won't forget them. I tried not to cry as I gave out my final hugs, alas I failed miserably. I hope that you guys will remember me when I return one day. I hope even if it is in the songs or the games that I taught you, part of me stays with you in some capacity. All of my friends and family are tired of me gushing about you. I talk about your antics and I talk about your individual quirks, while no one is all that interested, just getting a chance to mention you guys makes my day better. Please know that I will come back, and that I am counting down until I can. (Part of me really hopes Penny will read snippets of this to you guys).

On my first day I was worried that it would take you guys a little while to warm up to me, but from the minute I entered the gate I was swarmed with hugs and excitement. Our bond was formed instantaneously, and I am so grateful. I know you have new volunteers and I'm sure you are just as excited to see them, and as much as the "mama bear mentality" in me wants to claim you as my own, I hope the new volunteers are bringing you guys as much joy and love as your tiny hearts can hold. I pray that each and every one of you is safe and being taken good care of. I miss every ounce of my time with you guys, even yanking knots out of my hair after you guys braided it every day.

If I did not have to finish school that coming fall, I would've stayed with you for the next year, if not more. I debated taking a gap year from college to do exactly that. You children taught me what true love and optimism is. Even with a standard of living so different from anything I had experienced before, all of you were happy, playful and so kind. I hope all of you carry that well into your adult lives. I hope you grow up against the odds, I hope you all grow to be prosperous change makers, and I hope I can be in your lives at some rate.

Projects Abroad instructed us not to get attached, they also told us not to have a favorite, but I did not heed either of these warnings. A little girl named Esmerelda, "Ese" for short, clung to my side throughout the entire extent of my trip. I shared a connection with her different than those with the other kids. She was the first to figure out that I was eventually leaving, and I could not get her to stop crying on my last day. This is my letter to her.