Crossroads Middle School

Didi Okon  Crossroad Middle School

“Thank you so much for helping me! It really means a lot.”
 Wouldn’t it be nice to hear some one you may or may not know say thank you for  a good deed that you did for them. Well that’s what happened to me. In class, we were reading about Pay It Forward (PIF). My assignment was to find three people I could PIF too, and then write down what happened, our how I felt every day. At first I wanted to do babysitting. But the people who I wanted to PIF to were never home, and our schedules weren’t accurate. My three PIF’s were, house cleaning, baking cookies for my moms’ patients (she’s a nurse), and helping other kids with homework, or with class work.

My first PIF was helping other kids with their homework or class work. At first I couldn’t find anyone to PIF too, because it didn’t seem like anyone needed help. Then in one of my classes, I saw one of my friends struggling on her science homework. I knew most of the answers and saw that she needed help (so I asked her). That’s how my first PIF got started. I think my friend will also PIF, because she’s a friend who you can trust, believe, and depend on. If you need a favor to be done, she’s the friend you can ask. I was pleased that I PIFed to somebody. Seeing my friends, smile of relief was pleasant. It’s not every day that I put a smile on somebody’s face for something nice I did, so I was real proud. Plus, I even got to learn more about Science and Math. While I was helping my friend, some questions asked about Newton and grams. We had to convert  newtons to grams. In able to do that, you would need to know about science and math.

The second PIF that I did was cleaning houses. I cleaned my mom’s friend’s house. My mom’s friend was on crutches for a month. My older sister helped me with this PIF. When we went to help my mom’s friend, she was amazed by how young kids our age were doing good deeds for people like her. It seemed like she was always checking on us to see if we were comfortable, and we were. In fact, I felt right at home. She opened her house to my sister and me. She gave us something to eat, and made sure were ok. She was grateful and kind. When we told her what we wanted to do, she thought my sister and I were joking. When my mom told her friend what me and my sister wanted to do, she just ended up laughing like it was some kind of joke. It was good to see a big grin from one side of her face to the other. It was a real pleasure to know that my sister and I caused that smile on her face. Just like my first PIF, I learned some things that I can use in my daily life. For example, cleaning projects and math. Some of the times we were there, we had to move boxes of old clothes and jewelry, to a certain angle, so the boxes would fit in a certain amount of space. In able to do this, we need to know a little bit about angles and, how to consume space. We needed to know about math in able to do a task like that.

My last PIF was baking cookies for patients in the hospital. Since my mom’s a nurse, I thought it would be a great idea. Once I finished baking the cookies, I explained to my mom what I wanted her to say to her patients. My mom was more than happy to do this for me. When my mom came home, I learned what happened at work. She said that her patients were glad to get something from someone they didn’t know, but still cared about them.  At first, they were confused about the PIF concept. Once my mom explained the situation with more details, they were happy and grateful. I think what I did for the patients made them feel more secure. It lets them know that someone still cares for them. I’m not sure my moms’ patients will be able to PIF. Their sickness or something else may be the cause. If they do get better I’m pretty sure they will PIF. Maybe they’ll remember when they were in the hospital not feeling good; all of a sudden some stranger comes , and out of kindness of their heart bakes them get well cookies. Remembering that incident may make them feel like they should do something kind, and also show that they care for some one else. Doing this last PIF made me learn more about Home Economics and Math. I had to cook and measure ingredients. Measuring involves Math and cooking involves Home Economics.

If any one else wanted to wanted to perform this project, I would tell them that they need to be prepared for obstacles. During this project I had to face rejection for one of the PIF’s that I wanted to do. If that happens to anyone all you need to do is just think of another PIF. Never feel like giving up. You’re helping someone, so feel proud. Also, you need to make sure you’re prepared. You don’t want to go to someone ready to PIF to them, and then realize that you’re missing one of your materials. But overall it was a great experience and it made the world one step closer to being more generous.