Holy Cross!

About two days into my stay on the island Colette of Be Kind Belize invited me to speak to the children at The Holy Cross Evangelical school about the importance of kindness. I was both flattered and terrified. Although I've spoken in front of crowds countless times, I've never spoken to a crowd of children. I'm not a kid person and I'm known for liking puppies far more than infants. In addition, since the Holy Cross school services underprivileged children, I was warned that they could be a bit unruly. The night before I was scheduled to give my speech I saw one of the Holy Cross students at the internet cafe. He had a pair of weight lifting gloves next to his monitor. I asked him what the gloves were for and he said "I just go around punching things." This made me feel even more uneasy. The next day I woke up early and prepared for my speech. Colette introduced me to the over two hundred children as "a successful business woman and fashion designer." The kids seemed unimpressed, then she added "and when she has spare time, she deejays." "Ooooooooowwh" responded the children in unison. I was very nervous during my speech because I don't consider myself a very warm person, nor kid person. I talked about how being kind has helped me advance in the pretentious fashion industry. After my speech Mary Gonzales gave an awesome speech about the importance of knowing what you want to be when you grow up, as well as knowing what you don't want to be. One little girl said that she wants to be like Mary when she grows up. The children and I were captivated by Mary's speech. Then the speech competition began, the kids trumped my speech by far, the were so well prepared and delivered. When the winner was announced the room irrupted with cheer, every child was sooo happy for the winner as she received the keys to her brand new bike. I was sent there to inspire the children but I was the one that left being inspired.

Be Kind Belize