Teardrop Full of Love

A teardrop contains sadness, happiness, compassion, and most of all love. It can symbolize the ending of daily interaction with another individual, but the beginning of so much more. A teardrop may mean that people will break apart; however, when saying goodbye to everyone at the orphanage it meant that a stronger bond would be created. Although I will never see the children again and I was heartbroken to leave them, I can still love from 8,600 miles away. I will face many challenges in my life that I will need to overcome. Thinking about Sarat, Srey Ti, and all of the other children, I know I will be able to climb any mountain that is placed in front of me. With that, my love for the children will only grow, strengthening our bond. Before coming on this trip I was afraid I wouldn’t impact the children. I was afraid they wouldn’t remember me. I know now, however, that is not the case. On the last day at the orphanage, I was sitting on Sarat’s bed and had just given him a stuffed panda with a heart on it that said I LOVE YOU. I was holding Sarat in my arms bawling. After about 5 minutes Rath came up to us and said, “Don’t cry, be happy.” I smiled at him and wiped away a few tears. Then he said, “Tell Marika I miss her every day.” That really hit home for me because my sister, Marika, traveled to Cambodia last year. The fact that Rath remembers her and still thinks about her all the time proves that we make an impact on these kids’ lives. I may not have understood it at the time, but little gestures such as washing the kid’s clothes or teaching them the ABC’s shows them that we love them unconditionally and want to improve their living conditions. The children have helped me grow so much as a person. I have learned to appreciate my life more, live in the moment, and love more deeply.

Love

Love is unexplainable. It can cause people be happy or sad. It can cause you to laugh or cry. Love is the sun in our sky, yet the darkness that covers the Earth. The only thing about love that isn’t a mystery, is you know when it’s there. When I met the children at CPO, right away I could feel the love. Love is what pulled us together, and made me create a bond with every single child there. It inspires me to shovel dirt into a bucket in 95 degree weather. When I was sick with a fever and throat infection all I could think about were the children. I felt bad that I couldn’t help teach them or make their living conditions more comfortable. Although I could hardly swallow without grimacing in pain and was sweating like crazy, I was putting the children’s needs before my own. That is love. Saturday afternoon, Sarat and I were hanging out on the stage, drawing and making origami. I could feel our hearts beating with one another in perfect rhythm. The wind was blowing just enough to wipe the sweat off of our faces, cooling us down. I could here the roosters cocka-doodle-dooing under the stage and heard other small children giggling. Sarat grabbed my notebook and took my pen. He flipped to an empty page and started writing something. I looked away and saw smiling children everywhere. A warm calming feeling came over me and ran through my body. I felt peaceful at that moment, like there was not a care in the world. I looked back to Sarat, he pushed my notebook into my lap and scooted closer to me. The paper read “I love you” in Khmer and English. My eyes got glassy and lumps in my throat started to appear. I never knew that three words could mean so much and impact me so greatly. Although Sarat and I speak different languages and come from completely different worlds, we have an unbreakable bond that will always be intact. I believe that love is the most powerful feeling. It can build you up or break you down. It can be your darkness or your light. Love can bring people together and connect them for the remainder of their lives. The children at the orphanage have given me an incredibly large amount of love. They have made me realize that you don’t have to know someone for years and years before you can love them. There are no rules to love, you either love someone or you don’t. You can’t force or pressure love, it comes naturally. I love the children at the orphanage and because I do, I will do anything in my power to make sure they live a happy life.