This past summer I had the opportunity to go volunteer in Romania. I got to work with children who belonged to a poor community and they were seen as untouchables by surrounding towns. Their quality of life wasn't the best but they were still so full of life and were some of the most generous people I have ever met.
A group of my friends and I were in charge of running a camp for the kids for a week and I developed such strong relationships with the kids, specifically with a girl named Rozi. She was 12 years old and I was 18. She only spoke Romanian, no english, and I felt like she was my best friend.
On the last day we ate our breakfast together and I walked her out to get her bags. We stood there in the parking lot of the camp hugging, just us. At that moment I decided to take off my key necklace, the one I have always been known for wearing. The key necklace engraved with the word "inspire." I put it on her and she said to me "te iubesc" which means "I love you" in Romanian. We stood there crying and hugging for 5 minutes and Rozi told me that she wished she could've come home with me but her mom wouldn't let her. The truth is that Rozi and I inspired one another. And now the key necklace I was always known for wearing is on the neck of a 12 year old girl in Romania.
-Meredith
