I first heard about Playing for Others from my sister Julia. She was in a theater class at CTC that Jen taught and was really interested when Jen told her about PFO. Julia told me about it, and I was really interested too! I love the arts and people, and it really fascinated me the way the PFO uses the arts to reach out to people and benefit the community. My sister and I joined in the 2008-2009 season, and it was a great experience. It was really cool to see teens that have a passion for using their gifts to help others, which is really rare to see. Even though we are not perfect, all of the teens in PFO are striving to be in community and create change by being inclusive, using our passions to reach people, and remembering that “people are people.”
My favorite part about PFO is the buddy relationship. When I first joined it really pushed me to take initiative and it was a great journey getting to know my buddy, Hannah. This year with my buddy Aiden, it’s been a blast so far! He has tons of energy and looks at the world with wide eyes. He loves taking pictures, looking at bugs, and playing games. I’ve really enjoyed the time spent with my buddy!
I’ve also been challenged this year to push myself to a new level of responsibility and leadership by being secretary of the Winter Ball committee. My committee is absolutely fantastic and they motivate me to do my part better by their willingness to do tasks and their hard work. I’m really seeing the heart of this organization even more this year, and I admire and respect PFO even more than I did last year and am excited to be a part of it! Playing for Others continues to open my eyes to the passions of people who strive to value and treat every person with respect and love and encourage me to do the same. And I must say, it’s pretty amazing.
