We were all nervous. One by one, a student captured a boy’s or girl’s attention. Minutes seemed like hours, until finally I got chosen by two girls name Anita and Ruby.

Our bus ran to downtown Phoenix to attend an event called “Read To Me”, a weekly program for homeless children. Never in my life have I volunteered for this one-of-a-kind experience. Walking inside, we started to set up round tables and place the books everywhere! As soon as we set up the books, almost everyone grabbed a book and read. I glared at all the books, and noticed a mountain of hardcovers. The hardcovers were all different sizes, shapes and colors; one can easily be distracted with. All of a sudden I see the doors swing open and children of all ages started to flood the room. Seeing their eyes, children were in paradise.

A few minutes passed by, Anita and Ruby came up to me. Both of them were two peas in a pod. They were inseparable. While I read to both of them, the girls giggled and chatted. I read about ten books and two of them twice. My childish ways started to come back. We ran back and forth around the room discovering new books. I had to chase them around about three times, but it was fun!

In the middle of reading a fairytale, questions, out of the blue, both of them kept questioning me.

Anita asked, “What is your favorItlor Dayana?”

“Blue, sliver, and white,” I answered happily.

“What is your favorite princess?” Ruby asked.

Replaying to Ruby’s questions, I said “I can’t decide which of the princess I like. Honestly I like all of them. What about you both?”

Simultaneously both of them answered with a smile, “EVERY princess known on earth!”

As soon as we knew, it was time for our goodbyes. Ruby and Anita grabbed three books and left, as so I though. Anita pulled my leg and asked if I could take them to the snack line. Taking them to their destination, Ruby and Anita were in line; both of them surprised me with a big hug! I tried not to look back, but I could not help it. Both of them waved and so did I with a smile.

Remembering the past experiences at “Read To Me,” I had my epiphany moment. I realized how little things contribute to our happiness. Everything counts. The children were happy for the reason of us reading to them and nothing else. Also, we NEED to cherish those moments. A life can change in one minute by just giving them a smile.