Hatred is a strong feeling. It is divisive, hurtful, and detrimental both to the person being hated, as well as the hater themselves. I used to harbor a hatred. But it was irrational, uneducated, and just plain wrong. Mine was a hatred against people with disabilities. I thought they were strange, stupid, and had nothing to offer someone like me. But after just one short month in Playing for Others, I came to realize how terribly wrong I had been.
I joined PFO in 2007, its second year, mainly because my friends from Children’s Theatre kept telling me I should join. They told be their individual stories about how wonderful it was, how unifying, and how life changing. Now I greatly respect and love my friends and am always up for trying new experiences, but this was different. The first thought that popped into my head was: “Why would anyone what to hang out with retarded people?” Despite my reluctance to join due to that aspect of the program, I decided to try it and focus on the theatrical aspect and hanging out with my friends.
I arrived at the first buddy event apathetic and scared. It was daunting and frightening to try and interact with a child who I thought was going to be so different from myself. To my surprise, playing with my buddy Kaitlin came as naturally as playing with any other child. By the end of the outing, I had almost completely forgotten that Kaitlin had Down Syndrome. My past hatred seemed as though it had evaporated—the first indication that PFO would end up changing my life. As I broke down my own barriers, I discovered that I wanted to encourage others to do so as well. I began educating my friends about PFO’s message of acceptance and inclusion, and I corrected them if unknowingly referred to something as “retarded”. I found that my passion for PFO skyrocketed in just a few short months of being around my peers who were invested with a dedicated energy and of course my buddy who I grew to love more and more throughout the course of the year.
Going into committee meeting, I really saw my opportunity to create change. I began approaching people for corporate sponsorships, calling and meeting with heads of major businesses, something I never thought I would find myself doing, or enjoying. Meeting with Bill Crowder was perhaps the most inspiring corporate sponsor experience I had because I saw how he truly believed in our mission and what we wanted to accomplish, aiding us by donating $5000. I had never felt so empowered, inspired, and passionate about doing anything in my entire life, and I found that devoting my whole self to this non-profit was the most rewarding experience of my life. Going into the Arts Festival Weekend, it all became kind of a blur. It was a whirlwind of excitement, celebration, and performance after performance. But three vivid moments stood out to me: the very first performance of Frog and Toad, when I first got on stage and the opening number began to run I felt so empowered knowing that this performance was for something greater than myself. The next moment that stays vivid in my mind is meeting Kaitlin in front of the limo at the Red Carpet Event, walking her down the carpet and trying to make her feel like a star, showering her with all the love in my heart. Lastly was the check presentation, the adrenaline was pulsing through my veins as I held hands with my fellow PFOers. The speech from Misty made me cry and at that point I realized that it didn’t really matter how much money we had raised because those beautiful words about the impact we made were worth more than any amount of zeros on a check. The cloth was torn off the check, and the words “Twenty-five thousand dollars” were screamed into the air. I was estatic! I couldn’t believe it; I hugged and cried with everyone as we celebrated this miraculous achievement.
Three years later, my passion still runs strong and true and I now hold a leadership role as chair of my committee. My experiences in PFO have been beyond eye opening and the lessons I learned will be invaluable to me for the rest of my life. I cannot fully express in words the difference this organization has made in my life, but the people I have met and the things I have done are absolutely unforgettable. PFO has helped me to discover my passion, turned my hatred into love, and truly changed my life.
