Kids are my heroes, not just because they enthusiastically eat mud and find genuine amusement in their own minds (two things I gave up with puberty, alas.) Even better than their complete openness to the joy around them, children have this uncanny ability to take the present and run with it, assuming that everything will always be as good, as fun, as fulfilling as it is today.

When I started volunteering at 826 Boston, a nonprofit tutorial center for inner-city kids, I was incredibly childlike with in my enthusiasm and wonder with the vision of it all. Helping kids write about monsters? In a Big Foot Institute? Where do I sign?

Fast-forward five (mostly wonderful) months, and I'm still happy to give up my Saturdays to be a volunteer. The main reason, surprisingly, was perhaps also childlike. I love exploring my own imagination, insightful interaction, and even getting out of my pajamas. In short, I like the people-ness that working at a place like this easily offers. Especially, in times like finals when all my free time (outside of work) is spent typing away in an empty computer lab. 826 gives me an extra dose of personal fulfillment.