rachelrae's Blog

The little things in life make the biggest difference
- Posted on 08.20.08
During the time I lived in Hawai’i, I had the opportunity to be a Wish Grantor for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As a Wish Grantor, I got to meet with wish kids and their guardians to help plan out their wish. My first wish kid was the most adorable 5 year old girl. She had a heart disease and was waiting to go to the mainland for surgery. We worked quickly to try and set up her wish so that she would have something to look forward to when she returned.
I’ll never forget the first time I met her. It was during a time in my life where I was questioning where my career was going and what I was going to do in the future. I went into our first meeting with her, not knowing that meeting her would provide an experience that I would take with me going forward. Not only was this little girl battling a life threatening disease, but she had also been through the foster care system and eventually she ended up living with her grandmother who was her guardian at the time. Here was this little girl who has already been through so much and with a little help from the My Little Pony toy I brought, I was able to see her smile, laugh, and play. We had so much fun! It was a definitely a blessing to spend time with her.
During that time I needed to find out what her wish was. Since she was only 5, I first had to ask her “Do you know what a wish is?” Her response was “Yes, I can have EVERYTHING!” This made me laugh as I asked her “If you could meet anyone in the whole wide world, who would you want to meet?” She responded “Dora (The Explorer)!” and finally “If you could go anywhere in the whole wide world where would you go?” “Fun Factory!” (sort of like Chuck-E Cheese but for Hawai’i) Yes, she was the most adorable 5 year old girl I have ever met. Besides our little Q&A, we played house (a game I haven’t played since I was a child), build a “fortress” using a bed frame and some blankets, and shared make believe stories jokes.
It was awesome to take time out of life to enjoy the little things in life. Although I was there to help her, she was in fact, the one to help me. In the little time that I spent with her, she had helped to put things into perspective, to re-prioritize the priorities in my life, and to inspire me. She helped to shed light on where the next step in my life would be: helping people.