"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive" (Anais Nin)

I’d love to introduce you to our little family of volunteers in the same way that we’ve gotten to know each other: our little quirks, our unique traits. We know who goes to sleep early and who needs two hours to wake up. We know who likes to eat breakfast and who prefers only coffee until lunch. We know who is afraid of mice, who talks in her sleep, who hates any kind of chaos. We know who likes to feed the dogs, who likes poetry, who likes punk music.

One of us is the art expert, one of us is the technical advisor, one of us is the language consultant. Some of us have our heads in the clouds, others have two feet on the ground.

We share our shampoo and toothpaste. We share our hopes and frustrations. We share meals and culinary fantasies. We use the same bathroom, the same water tank, the same laptop.

Sometimes we get fed up of all the sharing and familiarity, and we want a break from it all. Sometimes we argue over it and get upset. Sometimes a conflict breaks out, fiercely shooting sparks all over the place, and then quickly shimmers to ashes. Sometimes we encounter bigger problems, ones that will fester if unaddressed, and we sit each other down for “a serious talk”, the kind one might have with her boyfriend. By the end of dinner we’re always laughing.

We share our stories. Many times we find ourselves marveling at a team member’s narrative, other times we just double over laughing. Many times we find we share the same joys and woes. Always we find a sympathetic ear in each other.
We learn from each other. I’ve learned so much just listening, just being around this phenomenal group of people. I am constantly inspired and in awe. I find myself, at this very moment, trying to find some sentence that will make this post less cheesy, because I want them to like it; I want them to be happy.