Similar to when I was applying for IP, I had no idea what was in store for me when I applied for Interact Club. Only after being in it I realise that I made the right decision. Being in Interact really exposes you to the other side of life that we don't commonly experience, be it kids from disadvantaged families, or simply lonely elderly people.
Started the day today with the last homegroup session of the term. I'll admit, the kids were pretty rowdy and hard to control, but it was fun watching them play I guess. Though most of the games were kinda fail with the children haha. And it was pretty nice that the people from the centre held a mini party for us, with food and even a small cake for us, in appreciation of us tutoring the kids every week. I guess I would miss the kids in some way over the holidays :/
Went for Makan Love after that. I thought that I wouldn't be able to communicate with the elderly much due to the language barrier. While that was mostly true, I was lucky enough to have an English educated couple at my table. I talked to them a lot, it was a really interesting experience. Both of them were 80 and 83 years old, and they had very interesting life experiences, like studying in Cambridge and failing, but still being able to succeed in life, and also travelling all around the world, to many many countries. What I found really cool was that they too volunteered a lot, even when they were in their 60s and 70s, and only stopped recently. Was quite funny when we talked about how things have changed since the past, like how music was supposedly better than the "noise" we have now haha. Somehow after talking about their grandchildren we ended up on the topic of my want to study medicine in future. I honestly felt really encouraged, and somewhat touched by the things they told me, like how I really shouldn't worry about things too much now, and that I should enjoy my youth.
They were really eager to talk to me too, probably because they don't live with their children, so they don't really have many people to talk to. But I think a really felt a true "warm fuzzy feeling" after talking to them, knowing that I at least managed to make a connection with them, even if only for that short period of time. That's what being in Interact is all about I guess. It's not just in being a volunteer in various events, to help with manual work and all. It's about the personal experiences gained from these events. Something like how my hospital attachment earlier this year was much more enriching and enlightening than any other hospital attachment I would have found on my own.
Another thing I found very interesting and impactful was the spirit of volunteerism. It was really there, with volunteers who were complete strangers to other volunteers helping each other out, and all of us staying back to clean the place even though we didn't really have to, till like 9+. I know those sound kinda trivial, but I can't really describe what I felt that really made an impact on me. Once again, seems like the decision to join Interact was a good one, as I'm now amongst people who have similar mindsets towards helping others.
Yes, I know I'm very busy now and haven't been blogging much, but I felt this was something important that I'd really like to capture, something that I'd really like to look back at and remember, in time to come.
"Don't be so uncertain of yourself, the future will only turn out the way you want it to be, if you're certain of yourself."
