Goodbye Cafe!

After 13months volunteering at the community cafe I have finally said goodbye! But looking back on the past year I have learnt a lot. Maybe not as much as everyone else my age who's doing A-levels but none the less, I've still learnt some rather valuable lessons.

While school told me not to judge a book by it's cover it didn't tell me not to judge a person by their exterior. Maybe because at school everyone has to dress and act the same. While at the cafe I came in to contact with a lot of people some of which lived in a council flat, chain smoked, lived off benefits and their personal hygiene wasn't all that hygienic... before I would of probably ran a mile from such people but actually they are lovely. The stories I got to hear about people's lives were fascinating and actually the people were possibly friendlier than some of my acquaintances.

I've also learnt that recovery is an option. A few of the people I came into contact with had recovered from something, whether it was self-injury, drug use, alcoholism or an eating disorder. These people had recovered and if they can, why can't I? It was while at the cafe recovery, for me, became a choice as opposed to a chore. When you're surrounded by so many inspiring and supportive people on a day to day basis instead of being surrounded by the muppets at school it can do wonderful things!

I've learnt a lot about myself to - good and bad! So here some not as important things that i've learnt.... I can eat yellow food. I don't want to become a chef. I am the laziest person on the planet. Given time my confidence grows. People shouldn't scare me as much as they do. School years are not the best years of your life. Most people have 2 sugars in their tea. Curry is actually quite nice.

The most important thing I've learnt is that God works miracles on a daily basis!