I've been around people with special needs of every shape and form for a while now. I've been a camp counselor, volunteer, bowling partner, assistant coach, and many other positions. All of those opportunities to work with those with special needs has shaped me into who I am today. However, whenever I tell someone what it is that I do, usually the first thing they say is, "Wow! That must be so hard." or, "What a great thing you do. Not everyone can do that."
The truth is, anyone could do it. I'm not superwoman. I'm just a person who's thing is working with people with special needs. Some people go on mission trips, volunteer at soup kitchens, or take in foster children. I wouldn't do that because that isn't where my heart has led me. What I love doing is working with those with special needs, so I do that. I could do all of those things, but I don't. People who do that amaze me because if they don't do it then nobody will. I'm doing the same thing, I'm just doing what my heart tells me and caring about people.
People have this idea that when I volunteer it is constant strenuous work with unhappiness. And that just isn't true. What I do isn't a challenge. For some people it may seem like the whole time I'm barely keeping it together dragging myself through the day but that simply isn't the case.
I'll tell you what isn't hard.
It isn't hard waking up at 6 in the morning to get them dressed. It isn't hard to make sure that everyone is together and participating in activities. It isn't hard making sure that when someone is prone to seizures that they aren't staring off for too long. It isn't hard to get them to fall asleep when they just want to talk or stay up and color. And it isn't hard calming them down when they've been frustrated to the point of breaking things because they don't know how to properly communicate what it is they're feeling. None of that is hard for me.
Here's what is hard.
It's hard moving away to college and having to leave behind your group of Special Olympics friends who have stolen your heart in one short year. It's hard spending the day and night with people for eight days and sharing everything, only to leave them until the following year. It's hard holding their hand and carrying their luggage to their family's van and trying not to cry when they tell you, "I'll be back next year, don't worry!" It's hard not knowing how their group home treats them. It's hard when their caregiver isn't excited to see them at the end of the day when all you want is to take them home with you. It's hard having no communication with them for long periods of time that seem to last forever because sometimes they can't write letters. And it's hard understanding the inevitable, that they're getting older and that they haven't been given the healthy life that I take for granted every single day.
So please don't act like I, or anybody else that works in this area, am a martyr or an inspiration. Don't say that what I do is hard or difficult or amazing. They're the ones that are amazing. They're the ones who have to constantly deal with discrimination and medical hardships. That is hard. That is difficult. Always having a smile on their face when life is rough is inspiring. Me volunteering some of my time is not. I don't do this so people can tell me I've done a good job, I do this because I am in love with these people and I love spending time with people who love me for me.