What I've Learned From Kids Creating Comfort

Doing Kids Creating Comfort has taught me many great things, and has helped me a lot during the time that we have been doing it. It has taught me many valuable lessons that will help me greatly later on in life. It sure is amazing how many big things I have learned from what started out as such a small project.

During this project, my siblings and I have had to deal with many people. We have had to go up and talk to complete strangers, managers and presidents of companies, even Oprah Winfrey's editor. We have also had to make presentations in front of large groups of people, and do interviews with magazines and newspapers. When we first started the project, I would get really nervous when doing these things. I would stumble on my words and forget what to say. I would be afraid to talk to people, and be very self-conscious. Now I am more confident, and have barely any trouble talking to people. Improving my people skills and bringing up my confidence has not only helped me in this project, but also in many other aspects of my life, like making new friends and getting jobs.

Another thing I learned is not to judge a book by its cover. I have heard this phrase many times before, but have never really believed it until we started Kids Creating Comfort. While getting donations I have learned the phrase to be true. Sometimes the people that seem the least likely to donate turn out to be the most generous. There is one incident that I remember that very well proves this. It was at the Oyster Festival in Urbana. We had been taking turns walking around and getting donations. When it was my turn, we had not walk very far when we saw the biggest, toughest, meanest-looking bikers. I was not even thinking about going to them for a donation until my brother dared me to. Long story short they ended up giving us $20.00. We were amazed. From then on, we went up to everyone no matter what they looked like. This lesson can also help in my everyday life in things like making friends, because even if someone doesn't have the coolest clothes or the prettiest face they could end up being the truest friend.

This project has also taught me about putting others first. Kids Creating Comfort has taken a lot of everyone's time and energy. We have all had to sacrifice a lot of social events and free time to help kids that we do not even know. For the first few weeks, it was really hard and I did a lot of complaining but now I am learning to be less selfish. It is not so hard anymore to make sacrifices. Now it feels good to know that even though I may not be getting what I want, I am making someone else happy.

Something else I have learned is to be grateful for what I have and not want what someone else has. These kids that were in Hurricane Katrina lost everything they had. They lost their homes, their clothes, their toys and some even lost their family and friends. When I think about it, I know that it is selfish to be thinking about whether or not I have the best brand name clothes when some of these kids do not even have clothes. It seems so stupid to be thinking about whether or not I have the coolest electronics or accessories when some of these kids do not even have a toy to play with. Doing Kids Creating Comfort has definitely showed me how much I really do have to be thankful for!

This project has also taught me about running a business, which will be very useful to me later in life. I have learned how to deal with problems, and how to work well with my "co-workers". I also learned that a business is kind of like a soccer team. When you do something good it is the whole group, nobody can handle everything alone. In soccer when you score a goal you get praise but you could not have scored that goal without the whole team to help you. Just like if one of us gets a big donation you have done a great job but your donation is not the only thing that keeps the business going strong. The hard work of everyone keeps everything going strong!

I have also learned about self-control from the blankets. While making them we have had to make many blankets. When my mom is not around to keep us on track it is sometimes hard to keep working diligently. We might want to play a game, or turn on the T.V. and then the blankets do not end up getting done. At first it was very hard not to give in to these temptations, but now when I feel like giving in I just remember why we are doing this project and it motivates me to work harder and get more blankets done. This can help me a lot in many aspects of my everyday life. For example, when I have to study for school, or get a chore done, or learn a new language. Self-control is helpful in all of these things.

This project so far has been fun and rewarding to me. All these things that I have learned will help me greatly in my life. At first, I hated Kids Creating Comfort, I wanted to give up on it because I thought it was too hard. I thought it was stupid to do something I thought was so hard and boring without getting anything in return, but I now know that even though I am not getting anything materialistic I am getting something even better. Great life lessons thanks to Kids Creating Comfort.

Thanks,
Josephine Tyler - 14