Reflective Essay: The Buddy Program

Throughout lower and middle school at lab, the buddy program was always my favorite. I loved the connections and friendships it made, and I was always excited about the challenge of being a big buddy. Because I was always one of the quieter, gentler people in my class, I was often paired with the shyest child in the class we had been partnered with. I felt as if I had the potential to begin to understand them, maybe even a bit more than some of classmates, because I had been very similar to them. I had started out at Lab afraid of teachers and nervous around my peers, something I was constantly drawing on as I tried to make my buddy open up. I was paired with a preschooler who had a fear of older buddies, as his past experience with them had