I first heard about PFO through last year’s songwriting competition. Several of my friends thought that I would do well in this competition, so off I went, writing a song about change. After weeks of brainstorming, writing, revising, and crumpling papers, I was left with a metaphorical masterpiece of a song, or so I thought. I entered the song and didn’t win, but that’s ok. I didn’t even like it the next day!
When I told my friend Erika Rasile about how I didn’t make it to the finals, she expressed sympathy, then proceeded to persuade me to join PFO. Eventually I gave in and sent my application. I was very surprised to hear back from the organization, and a little while later I found myself in an office making conversation with a bunch of teens who seemed like they had each chugged a pot of coffee because they were so hyper (Yes, that was my first impression of PFO teens!). During my interview, I managed to skillfully mix up the definitions of inclusive and exclusive. This was one of the many mistakes that my dad pointed out to me as we left. It was because of these mistakes that I figured there was no way I would be asked to join.
The unfortunate thing about this story is that you know the ending- I got into PFO and lived happily ever after, but my story still isn’t over. I quickly realized that the reason the teens from the interview room had so much energy was because they were a part of something that was beneficial to both their communities and themselves. They were proud of their work and excited about each new opportunity that PFO had in store for them. Because I am now a part of Playing for Others, I, too, have chugged my pot of coffee (oh how I wish it wasn’t metaphorical…), donned my very purple PFO shirt, and gone out into the community to affect and better it in many ways, with the help of 62 fantastic teens.
Now the story is over.
