Written Reflection 3 - Kalee Fuller

As my weeks volunteering with the Best Friends Day Center have come to a close, I am able to reflect back on my experiences and see all that I have learned and accomplished. It has been such a pleasure to be able to work with such amazing participants, employees, and other volunteers over the semester.

One of the couple book shelves filled with all
types of books, historical to fictional.

When I was first assigned to the Best Friends group, I was both excited and nervous to work with people who had dementia. I was unsure of the “correct” way to help them and talk to them if there was one, and it was an unusual environment for me all together. After my first week volunteering at the day center, I was excited to go back the next week. We had fun singing with the participants and playing games during group time. It was much more relaxed and easy going than I had expected it to be. 

The weeks went on and I began to get more and more comfortable going to Best Friends and talking to the people there. Even though they may not always remember me, I remembered each of them and the different parts of their personality that would stand out during our group time—their sense of humor, the way they danced, or how loud they sang. 

The table filled with magazines and activities for the participants. 

One of my past few weeks was the first time that I had ever gotten to spend more one on one time with the patients there, and it was even more rewarding than the group time I had experienced before. It was also the first time that I had ever gotten to do any other activity besides singing the songs with the participants. Getting to have individual conversations with different people and learn more about them was awesome. They each have stories and love to share them with us. 

It was during this time that I realized how greatly this time spent at Best Friends has also impacted me, not just the people I have gotten the opportunity to work with. I have also realized how much I will miss going there every week and getting to see their faces when we walk through the door. Overall, it has been such a rewarding time for me and I am so happy I got the chance to participate.