I heard about PFO through my friend Emily Moore at school. She’d been in PFO for a few years and said it was an amazing organization that taught you all sorts of life skills and gave you unforgettable experiences. Turns out she was right. I will never forget how to address an envelope and I finally know what “cc” means on my email. PFO taught me that I’m more powerful and connected than I originally thought. It gave me the chance to give the community, the organization, the buddies, and my peers parts of me that otherwise may not have had the chance to give. What’s meant the most to me, however, is getting to become a good part of my buddy’s life. Now, when Miguel thinks of other kids, Sarah A. and I are two more people that he’s happy to think about and that he’s comfortable with. PFO is really the only medium I can think of that makes relationships like this possible. By giving these friendships the opportunity to begin and develop in such open, friendly environments (as opposed to say, a school environment), the comfort for both myself and my buddy is already there. As I move on to college somewhere in the big world, I know that I will take the values I have learned and the friendships I have formed with me and I can’t wait to come back and visit my buddy.
