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When people told me ��ɫ��Ƶ would be hard, they talked a lot about��long hours and paperwork��and getting enough��“m���Գܳٱ��”.����Yes,��all those things are challenging. I won’t deny that there were days when I��hit��my 10th��hour of service��and thought to myself��“how am I going to get through these last 20 minutes of tutoring?”��But that isn’t the hard part.����

The hard part is seeing the unlimited potential and brilliance of��your��students��every day, but also knowing how hard the systems of oppression in this country will work to��take that away from them.��The hard part is becoming far too familiar with the smell of pepper spray in the hallways��or��it being��aimed��at crowds of parents and students at a basketball game.��The hard part is having a student you’ve come to care for so deeply��walk��into the ��ɫ��Ƶ room and��break down over things that no teenager should ever be asked to handle.����

The more you care, the harder it gets.��I know that��might sound strange, but I actually think this is the power of��our��service.��This should be hard. We should be��mad.��We should be angry because our students��are told that everything’s “fair and equal” now, but still grow up in oppressive systems that put them three steps behind from day one.��The��care and love and respect��that we have for our students should be our driving force to push back harder against all the barriers that stand in their way. “Be strong” doesn’t just mean��working��12-hour��days or making sure you hit that intervention target each week. “Be strong” also means be gentle with yourself and be gentle with others, because we have a lot of work to do in our education systems, in our public policies, and in the hearts and minds of people in this country.�� “Be strong” to me means that when the hard��moments��make you want to detach or care a little less – care more.��Take every day of service as an opportunity to find joy with your students, to build their confidence, to be their advocate and��to amplify their voices as they advocate for themselves.����

Aisling is from St. Louis, Missouri and is currently serving as the Team Leader at East High School. She studied psychology at Trinity College Dublin and plans to continue��serving students after pursuing a��Masters in Social Work.��