Pregnancy Center by Cheyenne

Pregnancy Center by Cheyenne - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

I have only had one volunteer position. It is a weekly story time at a pregnancy center. On Wednesdays, the pregnancy center has a story time for kids ranging from newborn to five-years-old. Although occasionally there are older kids. For the kids it is a chance to be read to, have a snack, create crafts, and play with toys. For the parents they have lessons. They have videos and discussions about the way the children behave and how to approach certain situations. When they complete lessons they get “Mommy” or “Daddy” dollars. They can use those dollars to get things like clothes, diapers, toys, car seats, and other essential things to care for the child. On top of that, they give pregnancy tests and prepare you for having a child. When you have a child, they give you a pre-made basket with everything you could need to properly take care of the baby. And they really care about you.
I started going after my mom found it. She had seen it advertised in the newspaper and she took my youngest brother, who was eleven months at the time, to try it out. She had gone a few times with just her and my brother, but I had an afternoon Wednesday class, so I went with her. They don’t make any money, they get donations and so everyone is a volunteer. So, the first time there, I didn’t really know what to expect. They were nice, and I sat with my brother and a little girl who was there. After that, I try to go every Wednesday. I look forward to it just as much as my brother does.
Over the last couple of months, another volunteer started there. She brings her son and her son is about one and a half. He mostly cries and points at people until you tell him their name. But this last Wednesday, my mom, brother, and I got there before they did. He and my brother were the only kids there. At first, he did his usual uncertain thing, he stood off by himself and stuck by his mom. At snack, he walked around by me. He wanted the graham cracker from my plate because he saw me give my brother one. So, I gave him one and then another one.
And then it was time to play. He kept throwing a soft knitted ball to me and I kept rolling it back. He was laughing. This was huge, I had never heard him laugh or even seen him smile before. Then he was running around and looking at stuff. His mom had me watch him while she went to the bathroom. I showed him a quilt they had on the wall with animals on it. My brother likes it when I stand him up on a chair and tell him what animal or object he is pointing to, so I did the same thing for the other boy. He would make me get him down run to the playroom and then back to the chairs with the quilt behind them. Then my brother started chasing him because the other boy was very excited. It was like they had started playing chase.
Then the other volunteer started playing peek-a-boo with them using the small window the separated the waiting area with the main room. And then she stopped so I started. When we went to leave that day, the little boy waved goodbye to me. That had never happened before. I had seen him wave goodbye to the other volunteer but not to me. It doesn’t sound like a big or important thing, but it was. This boy had never been like that with me before. I thought, to be honest, that he was only capable of pointing and crying.
What it taught me is that I really am important. The other volunteers say it and that they are happy I am there to help but hearing it and feeling it is two different things. My parents just assume that I know because they leave my brother with me so much. But that makes me feel used not important. I don’t think they realize that they do it that way. I spend so much time with my brother that I feel like a live-in babysitter, not like an important part of the family. So, when the volunteers talk about how important I am and when my mom says she couldn’t handle my brother without the rest of us, it just feels like something she is saying without really meaning. And when I saw how the little boy was acting I really felt that I really was important.