Building Bridges: The Transformative Power of Friendship by Anirudh

Building Bridges: The Transformative Power of Friendship by Anirudh - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

Almost every Sunday evening since 2020, my room is filled with the sounds of laughter and giggles coming from my computer screen. The source of the contagious laughter and joy is a group of young adults and teens with autism, speech and cognitive challenges and other special challenges who meet online as a group created by me, to provide them with a social outlet. The group, AK Friendship Circle is one of my proudest accomplishments, started in aftermath of the pandemic to provide support and mentorship to neurodiverse, differently abled and disabled young adults.

I was motivated on my journey by my older brother who is on the autism spectrum. My earliest memory of my brother is of him crying incessantly day and night, staring at a wall, and rocking back and forth while my parents desperately tried to console him. Over the years, I watched him struggle with challenges on a daily basis and visit the ER more times than I can count. But he never gave up, and nothing wiped that big smile off his face. The year 2020 was meant to be extraordinary for him, with graduation, prom, and joyful hangouts with friends. However, the advent of COVID shattered his dreams.

As the weeks of the lockdown continued, his mental health went into a downward spiral while my parents helplessly watched, a struggle mirrored by his friends. I wanted to do something to help them. My school had gone fully virtual with Zoom classes, so I decided that I would use the same technology to help connect my brother and his friends. I set up my first Zoom meeting, and the joy on their faces when they saw each other after months was heartwarming. The next 40 mins went by in a blur of SpongeBob SquarePants, nursery rhymes and clapping. As word spread through parents, more young adults joined in filling the virtual meetings with laughter. These virtual gatherings became a weekly tradition providing a safe and judgment free space for them to blossom.

As the pandemic eased, I continued with the meetings and decided to host a monthly in-person gathering at an ice cream shop, zap zone or other fun hangout places. Each gathering, while entertaining and fun for my brother and others, was a learning experience for me in empathy, patience and finding joy in the smallest of things. To further the reach of the group and encourage more young adults to join in, I founded AK Friendship Circle, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit. I sold postcards of my wildlife sketches to raise funds for fun activities to engage in with the group.

Receiving the STARS award, a special recognition from our school district’s Board Of Education for the community impact of my group, was humbling. I was also the recipient of the Ted Lindsay Foundation Family Courage Award for 2022 for contributing to the cause of autism. More than any award, the realization that I have made a small difference to fill the lives of those who often get overlooked, fills me with pride. Establishing this organization has truly changed my perspective of life. My experience through AK Friendship Circle has taught me that fostering and strengthening connections brings out the best in everyone and makes us better humans. What started out as a way to help my brother cope, has opened my mind and heart up to new friendships and a new appreciation of the differences amongst us. It is my hope as I continue creating these friendship bonds that more young people are inspired to reach out and extend a hand of friendship to those who are often marginalized and isolated. The need for friends and friendship is universal and has the power to truly transform lives, and I believe I have taken small but significant steps in making our society more inclusive and accepting of all.