This I Believe…by Hannah Heide

I decided this week that if put other people’s beliefs on my column every week, it was only fair that I share with everyone and anyone what I believe myself.

Mine is a very simple belief….I believe the best things come in small packages. (I know I am small, and I wish I could say I was the best, but I am not what this week’s column is about.)

I would like all of you to meet Alyssa, the girl who is the same size, if not bigger than me in the picture. 

Alyssa is three years old, and she is very proud that not only can she tell you she is three, but she knows how many fingers to hold up too.

Alyssa likes to color. A LOT. And she is really jealous of the fact that I know how to draw flowers like it’s nobody’s business, but she is an expert at coloring them in for me anyway.

Alyssa is desperate to learn to read and every week we try to read books together. We pick from the same three or four books every week, so we always end up making our own stories to go along with the pictures because we know the original by heart.

Even though Alyssa can’t read, we are working on her letters. She can write A-L-Y-S-S-A, H-A-N-N-A-H, and J-O-E-Y (who plays with her every week too).

Alyssa seems like the normal three-year-old.

I met Alyssa at Freedom House, a family shelter over by UW-Green Bay. She and her mom lived there this summer because, according to Alyssa, her daddy wasn’t very nice to her mommy and he is not going to be around for five to ten years. Alyssa and her mommy stayed at Freedom House for awhile, and she met a couple new friends.

Alyssa, Joey, and I all decided that Tuesday nights are our favorite nights, especially because it is two girls against one guy and Joey is the best at pushing on the swings.

Alyssa is the reason I believe the best things can come in small packages, because Alyssa made me realize that the small things are what teach us the most.

Alyssa has taught me that “please” and “thank you” cannot be forgotten, that taking turns is the best way not to have to go inside and be quiet, that smiling ALWAYS is the best way to get through any day, and,  most of all, even if you are small, what you say is important.

By spending my Tuesday nights with Alyssa, I realized that I want to spend the rest of my life working with children just like her.

Even though we only had one night a week together, Alyssa remembered my first, middle and last name, my sister and brother’s name, Joey’s first and last name, how old I was, how old Joey was, where I went to school, how tall I was, what I wanted to be when I grew up, how long it takes for me to drive from home to Freedom House, where I go after Freedom House, and the list goes on , because according to Alyssa ,  you have to know everything about the people you have fun with.

Alyssa didn’t care that I am only five foot nothing. She didn’t care what math class I was in, or the fact that I quit all my sports my senior year and spent most of my summer missing them. She didn’t care where I want to go to college, or where I went to grade school. All Alyssa cared about was whether or not Joey and I were coming back next week.

About a month ago Alyssa and her mom moved out of Freedom House. I probably am never going to see her again. There are new kids on Tuesday night who are excited to color in my flowers and have a book read to them, but I am never going to forget Alyssa.

Remember, it doesn’t matter how small you are, because anyone is capable of making a huge impact on someone’s life, the same way Alyssa did to mine.

Thank you, Alyssa.

This is What I Believe.