Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (150 words or fewer, 1000 character maximum).
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"She might bite you when she throws tantrums." This was the first thing the nurse said to me on my first day working at the Best Buddies center for the mentally challenged. The aim for the Best Buddies movement was for students to foster one-to-one friendships with an assigned "buddy" throughout various activities and games. My buddy, a timid 35-year-old woman, had autism and was known to be moody and unpredictable. At first, it was daunting to be paired with a person who could not understand your words, who never looked you in the eye when you spoke, who looked like an adult but acted like a child. However as time passed, I was no longer scared. Through laughter and interaction, I gradually got to know my buddy for who she really was. I knew blue was her favorite color, and that drawing stars with crayons makes her grin. I learnt an important lesson through this experience: you may have many good friends around you, yet you may be the only good friend to the people with mental handicap.
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"She might bite you when she throws tantrums." This was the first thing the nurse said to me on my first day working at the Best Buddies center for the mentally challenged. The aim for the Best Buddies movement was for students to foster one-to-one friendships with an assigned "buddy" throughout various activities and games. My buddy, a timid 35-year-old woman, had autism and was known to be moody and unpredictable. At first, it was daunting to be paired with a person who could not understand your words, who never looked you in the eye when you spoke, who looked like an adult but acted like a child. However as time passed, I was no longer scared. Through laughter and interaction, I gradually got to know my buddy for who she really was. I knew blue was her favorite color, and that drawing stars with crayons makes her grin. I learnt an important lesson through this experience: you may have many good friends around you, yet you may be the only good friend to the people with mental handicap.