Surfer's for Autism by Olivia

Surfer's for Autism by Olivia - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

Sometimes, there is that one experience that truly changes your life, whether it be a situation you encounter, or a person that enters your life. For me, this life changing experience was my first time volunteering for Surfer’s for Autism. Surfer’s for Autism is an annual event on various beaches across Florida where volunteers, like myself, teach children with mental disabilities like Autism, Down Syndrome, and Asperger’s how to surf.
A few years ago was the first summer that I participated in this event. I remember seeing the faces of these children as they rode their first wave, a look of excitement and contentment shining through in their expressions. The two most inspiring kids were a little girl named Jennie, who suffers from severe Autism, and a boy named Josh who had a milder form of Autism, but with different characteristics. Jennie couldn’t handle the sound of the waves, as her symptoms were characterized by intense hearing. So, Jennie was crying and unhappy when on the surfboard. But finally, I sat on the back of the board and she sat in front of me. Jennie leaned all of her body weight on me and I felt her release this tension that she had been holding inside of her. This moment was so incredible for me, because I knew at that moment, I had made a difference in a child’s life. As for Josh, he was the most excited kid out on the water. I have never seen a little boy so excited, and it made me realize that there are much bigger things in this world than myself.
Since this day, my mindset has been forever changed, and I focus more on volunteering and helping others. I have volunteered at Surfer’s for Autism in the years following, along with fostering abandoned puppies, and caring for patients in the mental illness floor of an assisted living facility. Random acts of kindness have also become an important element to my everyday life, because they make myself and the people around me happier, kinder people. I truly believe that is what our world needs today. This volunteer experience taught me to appreciate how blessed my life is, and also to help other people as much as I can, because even the smallest experience or act of kindness can change someone’s life for the better.