International Children's Day 1 June 2023

On June 1st, 2023, I went with a group of volunteers to visit the kids being treated at City Children's Hospital. We brought some small gifts with us.

I'll be honest, when I first walked in I didn't know what to do. I'd been thinking I was going there to bring the kids some joy, which sounds nice, but then I was standing in front of a kid in a hospital bed and I just froze. I was scared of saying the wrong thing, scared of asking about the wrong stuff, scared of coming across like I pitied them. Turns out I was worrying for nothing. The kids didn't need me to be smooth about it. One of them pulled me into a game they were already in the middle of, like I'd been there the whole time, and somewhere in there my awkwardness just went away without me noticing.

It was only on the way out that I had to laugh at myself a little. I'd come in thinking I was the one doing the giving. But the ones who made that day feel easy were the kids, not me. I walked out with more than I walked in with, and it wasn't any of the gifts I brought.

Uy Nguyễn (Mike)