I've been to China many times before but it wasn't until this year that I decided to volunteer at the China Care Home. I never expected this experience to be as rewarding as it has been. 

My first day here, I met a four-year-old girl nicknamed LiLi. I thought LiLi absolutely hated me because whenever I tried to talk to her, she would just glare at me and then turn away and look in the other direction. But I quickly found out that LiLi is actually just extremely shy around strangers. I kept trying to interact with her and a couple of glares later, I was finally playing with her. Soon, I was watching LiLi giggle and run to the mirror to look at the palm tree hair-do (a little pony tail tied  at the top of her head) that I would tie over and over again in her hair. It amazed me how LiLi valued and appreciated all the little things in life. Something as little as a couple of strands of hair sticking up from her head would make LiLi the happiest little girl in the world.

LiLi has taught me so much in the one week I’ve known her--I hope I’ve made as lasting an impression on her as she has on me.

Emily Schron

Phoenix Country Day School