Birthday Dreams by connor

Birthday Dreams by connor - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

Not many were surprised when we got the cards in the mail. It s a routine happening at Birthday Dreams, a non-profit charity that provides birthday parties for kids in need. But to me, it was a special moment. I have been volunteering at Birthday Dreams for almost three years then, coming in on occasion, but never truly dedicated my time. This would change when those letters arrived. It was just a simple thank you card, addressed to the organization as a whole, but it was an incredible gift to receive.
When talking about defining moments in a person’s life, there are always moments that commonly spring to mind; graduation, the advice they received from a guardian, an athletic event they won. Reading that letter, with the wild scrawling and artistic stick figures coating the card’s walls, was a defining moment of my life. It brought things into focus and allowed me to gain context for the things I had done while volunteering at Birthday Dreams. People had gained something from the things that I had done, benefitted, even if in only a small way, from some work that I had put in. Realization comes with revelation, that a single individual’s work and dedication can make a wide-reaching impact on the community, as long as they focus their efforts into something worthwhile.
The understanding of an individual’s ability to make an impact upon other members of the community would manifest in various ways during the forthcoming school year. I would organize study groups for my four Advanced Placement classes for other students, ensuring that anyone who needed help, myself included, was able to get the help they needed. We would regularly get nearly a dozen students when the sessions occurred, and also would take away valuable information, whether it was a new way to take notes, an easier way to memorize information, or help on a difficult homework assignment, everyone gained. I worked to ensure we got new Advanced Placement classes for the next school year, talking to teachers, principals, counselors, and students to organize enough support to add the class to next year’s roster. I brought more people with me whenever I went to Birthday Dreams, ensuring that more work could get done and that a wider variety of people knew of the organization and supported it.
By providing context and a resolution to the work had put hundreds of hours into, the thank you card’s arrival at Birthday Dreams would become a defining moment in my life. Providing a deeper understanding of the positive results that anyone’s actions, not just my own, could have on those around them.