quaint little rutted bucket



Monday, January 15, 2007

for the kids 2007

I honestly don't know what happened to the yellow info form I submitted with the CAE as I never made it to the final list. To be honest, my paranoia-meter spiked, as I initially thought they excluded me out as I was comelec (and thus, "should stay at a comfortable distance".) Crazy, yeah. But can't be helped.

Anyways, though, I still ended up with CAE people last sunday. COSCA's Leah assigned me to take the place of a friend who backed out, which as it turned out, had an adorable kid assigned to her, if only she were able/permitted to come.

The kid's name assigned to my care was Ryan, and by all accounts, he was weird. If I thought I was weird, somebody check that kid out. He's obedient and disciplined, but by golly, he sure had his own world. If anything, he scarily represented what was on the opposite side of the very thin line that divided genius and mental affliction. He was very shy and somewhat moody, preferring instead to stay alone or in small one-on-one groups than mingle with the other kids. Ryan also loved eating, seeing how many snacks he was able to cram into that little backpack of his. (Even then, I gave him cookies, seeing how much he seemed to like eating. :)

He was 10, and his moral development could attest to that. He was surprisingly very responsible, walking around 10 meters or so to the nearest trash can just to throw the snack and candy wrappers from the food he ate. (A lot of older and "more mature" Lasallians could learn from him. :P He was largely independent, and even more unlike other kids in FTK, he didn't get lost even when he was out of my sight.

The only thing that betrayed his condition (mental retardation, accdg to his profile) was his apparent shyness and low self-esteem. He took considerable time to open up, and I had to do much of the work in getting to know him. That was a challenge considering that I can get pretty clammed-up myself, but I figured that its a special day for this child, so I might as well help him make the most of it, if only to make me feel fulfilled as well.

This is my third time to join FTK, and it has always been a draining, but ultimately, fulfilling experience. There's a sense of calm and "i'm-happy-golly-gee" disposition at the end of every FTK day. Even the COSCA volunteers I knew remained very happy, and me and my friends felt largely the same too.

I feel sad though, as this was the last time I join FTK as an undergrad. Of course, I can always join, even when I'm already finished with my degree, but as of now, it only serves as a reminder that my stay in La Salle is in its twilight...

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