“I’m up.” As I crawled out of bed. I glanced at the clock ,and I knew that if I didn’t hurry and get up I was going to be late.I barely managed to keep my eyes open as I searched aimlessly for a shirt.“Vamonos”! (let’s go!),my dad hollered as I grabbed a hair tie from my nightstand. As I dozed off during the 40 minute drive to my destination I questioned why I had decided to volunteer. Volunteering meant having to place my free time in jeopardy for eight weeks in order to mentor kids that I didn’t even know ,who had a range of special needs . All I knew was that doing community service looked good on college applications ,so that meant I had to do it.

When I arrived there was already a group of individuals scattered through the Phoenix Herpetological Society , a facility that houses reptiles. Deciphering the volunteers from the clients was as easy as distinguishing a chicken from a cow. All the volunteers were huddled together like a swarm of bees around their hive conversing while the teens with special needs were all over the place; some gazing off into distant worlds and others fidgeting and shrieking in secluded corners. I thought about joining the group of huddled teens ,but then I decided that they were managing just fine .They didn’t need help maintaining eye contact, speaking fluently, or keeping a conversation going. At that moment I decided that I was going to help teenagers with autism and other disabilities to build their social skills.I approached a girl and introduced myself, “ Hey how you doing? My names Minerva what’s your name?”. She seemed awestruck and surprised , as if she couldn’t believe that I was actually talking to her.“Hi.”,she managed to mumble,and then immediately looked away and began nodding her head.I just stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do .Thankfully, Erica, the program coordinator ,announced that we had to get to work ,and we all buzzed towards her.

Since the program was centered around teens with disabilities we were to treat each volunteer site as if it were a job in order to help them in their shift into the workfield . That day everyone, sorted food,fed tortoises, and picked up a bunch of reptile poop. When we were heading out ,the owner of the facility invited us to see where the snakes were kept , we followed him and soon we were faced with an array of snakes.I saw that the girl I had introduced myself to was hesitant of coming into the building. I was one of the first to enter the building but I went back to go get her. I thought she was going to ignore me and just stand by the entrance the whole time but when I nudged her and said, “Come on”, she actually followed me . When we walked in I saw the owner of the facility holding a full grown yellow Python and he was asking for volunteers to hold it. I looked away but I felt the glares of everyone piercing through me I knew that they expected me to volunteer ,but I didn’t want to hold any kind of slithering creature. Seeing slimy,slithering ,snakes in a cage was way different than having one wrapped around your neck. As I was looking away I witnessed how intrigued the nameless girl was with the yellow creature yet I knew she would not volunteer ,so I decided to give her a little push. I layed under the Python and let it wrap itself around my neck and extended arms . My friend was astonished.She stared at the snake as it stuck its tongue in and out and I just smiled at it . After a few seconds I called the girl who I had now learned was named Allison and asked her if she wanted to touch the snake. She quickly jumped back and abruptly declared, “No way!”, I smiled at her and said,”You got this”. She was reluctant but eventually she stepped forward and cautiously caressed the back of the snake . In the end I was impressed to hear her declare , “This is fun.Snakes are smooth”.

That day was simply amazing.I felt like I was on top of the world.I had never realized how much of an impact a small friendship could have on an individual. In one day I conquered one of my fears ,and most importantly I helped Allison conquer one of hers. After completing the eight weeks of the program I gained a better understanding of what it means to have special needs. Teenagers with special needs are teenagers nonetheless , they listen to music, like to watch movies, and spend time with friends. Many of these teens are introverts and spend most of their time alone because they are misunderstood by society. If only we took the time to introduce ourselves to someone with special needs we could help a shy ,lonely child successfully assimilate into society .