Dear Nazareth Learning Experience,

In several days you should be expecting a thank you note coming through the mail. Since I was forced to write a message in a standard 5" by 7" card, words were very limited. So this is a continuation of that.

First off, thank you so much for giving me the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at your franchise. I cannot even begin to fathom all the memories I made.

Rewind to June 2015, and that was when I first came to volunteer here equipped with my clearances. Over the next year, I volunteered on a weekly basis. I started out as an "observer", and honestly I assumed to stay that way.On Volunteer day 1, I maintained a distance from the children and for good reason. They're not my "babies" and I'm not their "mommy". I wasn't going there to change diapers or feed snacks. I was going there under the assumption to "professionally" observe children so I could learn more about their developmental cycles and behavioral patterns. DUMBEST ASSUMPTION I'VE EVER MADE. The Learning Experience turned into my second home!

For many, the intentions behind volunteering or working is not because they actually like it. It is more of a resume booster, a way to show important people that you actually did stuff in your life. Initially that was my intention as well. And if it were to continue as so, then I wouldn't give a thank you note. Obviously, I volunteered because I liked it.

I've been asked several times if I would consider working here and my answer is always the same. No. It's not about the money. I never considered this place as my job.I strongly believe that if you love what you do, you'll never feel like you worked a day in your life.

I liked my weekly visits to the Learning Experience because I never got to be the child who went to a daycare. It was always interesting to see how the smallest of human beings were able to function without their parents - something that I as an adult admittedly have difficulty in doing! Everyone here is so friendly and energetic. Never in a million years did I expect to have an obsession with playing with kids. I'm convinced that Learning Experience volunteer withdrawal is an actual thing!

From entertaining at Parents Night Outs to reading the same story 99 times to banning kids from sitting on my lap because they were fighting with other kids for a turn, I enjoyed every moment I was here and I tell everyone the same.

For now I am officially saying goodbye but I hope to see you again. Thank you!

Take Care,

Purna