When I first came to IDS in August 2018, I was exhausted from a year working at an Amazon fulfillment center and in desperate need of meaningful work. After several weeks of searching for a job in Hattiesburg to no avail, I stumbled upon TRIAD AmeriCorps when I searched for “volunteer jobs” on Google. I quickly read the description and sent in my application. I took the job mostly naïve of what the work would be like day to day, but I was excited for the opportunity to work on USM’s campus so that I could more easily apply for graduate school. My life before beginning to work with TRIAD was mostly devoid of disability. I went to a private school, and we didn’t have any kids with disabilities unless they were able to keep up in “normal” classes. I was considered myself to be particularly prejudiced, but after a few weeks working alongside very diverse and individuals with very different disabilities I realized that I had lived my entire life completely blind to the needs of people with disabilities. I was afraid when I showed up for my first day of work that I wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone. I’ve always been an intellectual, and the majority of my deep relationships are formed through books or ideas we share.
Thankfully, I was completely wrong. Working every day with my new friends in TRIAD gave me a new sense of confidence. The majority of TRIAD’s work is going into local special education classrooms to provide health and wellness training. I absolutely hated getting up in front of a class full of students and teachers, but after a few months it became routine and comfortable. I learned that I was judging myself much more harshly than I assumed that they were judging me. Working alongside individuals with disabilities has taught me that it’s okay to be different, to be myself. I will be forever grateful for my year spent playing thousands of games of UNO with Rachel, listening to Zach tell my everything he knows about literally everything, but especially Pokémon, and holding Amber Williams’ hand every Tuesday on the walk to lunch. My experiences taught me to be more open, MUCH more patient, and more me.
I work as a LEND trainee now. I’m a little bit more removed from the day to day lives of my friends in TRIAD, but I’m learning how to make their lives better in my future Public Health career. Even though I’ve moved back into my comfortable, intellectual space, I still carry with me a year of learning to think about the needs of others in real time instead of in theory alone. When I applied to be a full time TRIAD AmeriCorps member, I had no intention of sticking around, but now I can’t comprehend life outside of the disability world. I guess they’re stuck with me.