My Capstone Project consisted of me helping children with homework and creating beneficial activities for them. I worked with 6th graders at my mosque, teaching them and creating activities for them to use to help understand their religion a bit more. However, most of my capstone was spent at The Village Community School at Burr Elementary. There I worked with 1st and 2nd graders on their homework and created activities that offered them and me some fun time. I have really enjoyed my project but what I enjoyed the most of it was the learning process I went through with it. From the very beginning, when I was asked what I wanted to do for my Capstone project, I knew I wanted to help children. Looking back at my reasons why or who I wanted to help, I consider myself naïve and selfish. I wanted to help myself more than other children or I wanted to help children who had my problems but I realized I couldn’t do that. I learned to accept the fact that whatever I am doing can be enough, even just being there for children is something that they will benefit from. The next part of my learning process which was the greatest in quantity and later quality too, was my research paper. My research paper focused on how poverty affects children. I learned a whole range of concepts and theories as to how being on the poverty line can affect children mentally, physically and emotionally. Many children in Hartford live in poverty and it’s not only being homeless or living in a really run down place. It is making a very minimum that is barely there to cover for one’s needs or lacking certainty that you can pay everything off. As I researched I realized that at one point in my life, I was suffering from poverty as well and especially when my parents just came to America. My research paper taught me how to deal with poverty and notice it. It ultimately helped me understand some of the children I may be working with. After my research paper, I was in full blown capstone mode. The next stop for my learning process brought me back to my younger years. I started working at The Village in the beginning of January. At the very beginning I didn’t feel for it that much. I thought I wasn’t doing anything beneficial. I wanted to do more and wanted to help and make a change and I thought that I was doing just the bare minimum. I would say to my sister, “these children don’t need help, I’m just a tutor for them.” I would also say, “I wished I picked a different project where I can help out people who are actually struggling in life and do something extravagant.” I was also angry that I wasted a lot of my time just getting a volunteer application in. There were many difficulties that I faced with my own self than with others. However, I still went to my capstone and after about the 4th week, I started to feel a different way about it. Around the time, I started planning the Black History Month decorations I started to feel quite delighted with the students and my work. I was getting excited making lessons and activities for them. I made strong relationships with some of the students and started to realize something very important. I was doing more than just a minimum. I was in the shoes of an elementary school teacher, who from my own experience, has an extremely tough job. I noticed that many of these students were below their academic level and some of them had a very tough time focusing. I tried to have that be one of my priorities. I learned that I am helping them in ways that are extraordinary. I helped them read better and learn their math skills to the level they need to know. As I continued working with the students, I started making more activities for them. I realized these children are in school from 8 to 6 and they deserve to have some fun. The activities were tough to organize but nonetheless the result of them were great. I would get smiling faces and happiness all around. A child’s happiness and innocence is what the world needs. It was exactly what I needed to feel happy and stress-free. On my last activity, the students got so happy when I gave them the thank you card and chocolate with it. One of the people I work with said usually the students make a thank you card for you. I don’t need a thank you from them and won’t ever need it. I am the one that needs to thank them for being amazing students and bringing me back to a time where I was completely happy and had no worries. They reminded me how amazing it feels serving the community and taught me that one’s presence alone can be enough to help someone in need. Many people have said, “Erna I see a future teacher in you,” and I really don’t know. This capstone has put me in a greater dilemma as to what I want to do in the future. I never saw myself as a teacher and still have a hard time believing it. However, it did make me more open minded to different opportunities. A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed that I will be doing this for my capstone project, however it was a new opportunity for me. New opportunities and new ideas will always keep on occurring. The greatest impact that this capstone had on me was that I became a child again. Usually seniors are encouraged to mature and become adults. I matured too early for my liking and this capstone gave me the opportunity to be the little 7 year old Erna again.