“Ugh, a princess book?” she exclaimed as she tilted her head with wonder. “Yeah” I replied as my cheeks turned red as some sweet tomatoes “Why not?” They are great for girls…?

Isabella was such a fancy little girl I met when I went to the ‘Read to me’ program at a Phoenix shelter with my school’s Interact club. She is 7 years old, just like my little sister so it was a bit easier for me to talk to her… or so I thought.

I wanted to read her some princess books, but she disliked them greatly.

“Why don’t you like princess books?” I asked extremely surprised since my sister loves them I thought she would too. She didn’t reply, she just left me and for some reason I felt sad.
“I…just…got…dumped by a 7 year old girl…” I thought shocked.
Around five minutes passed after she left me with no trace to follow whatsoever; I started calling kids out for them to come close to me, however, they already had someone to read them to.

I saw her approaching me with an I SPY book, which all the kids love. Why didn’t I think of reading this one to her in the first place? Ugh “Hey, let’s read this one together” she said as she sat next to me and her wavy hair bounced in such a delicate manner.

Isabella was so incredibly interesting and different than anyone else her age. She was extremely smart and I could actually talk to her without feeling I’m talking to a 3 year old or something like that.

“Are you okay?” she asked as she realized I had spaced out FOR THE WHOLE I SPY BOOK READING TIME. “Oops! My bad, Isabella” I said smiling and thinking again the reason behind why she was in that place despite her being so bright. I guess things happen for a reason, and I happened to meet her.

After that humiliating distraction, we started playing with the read to me; and yes, she would beat me Every. Single. Time

I just thought to myself how incredibly smart this kid was, and hoped that the future really holds something good for her. Although me and her only interacted for a few minutes on that cold Tuesday night, I could see in her eyes that just like the way her eyes shined, her future will.

I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to serve the community and make a difference, just like Isabella made a difference in me.

After all the reading and playing, it was time to leave and I had to say goodbye. She told me she was going to look for me every Tuesday night so she can “beat me again ha-ha!” and that just made my day and probably  my whole week. I came back from ‘Read to me’ telling my parents and friends the awesome time I spent at that facility and how awesome it is to actually help and interact with other people.

Because while you make a difference on someone, they can be making a difference on you too.