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For one week in July, I participated in the Fresh Air Fund Gift of Sight mission in Fishkill, NY. Never before have I had such an amazing experience; it was wonderful to be able to help and, in the process, I learned a lot about myself. Forced to reflect on my life, I now realize how fortunate I am to have received many luxuries in my lifetime- many of which I never even recognized as a luxury When I was in fourth grade my vision started to deteriorate and the thought of wearing glasses was so awful and uncool' at the time; never did I realize how lucky I was to have been given clear vision. Now, at 28, my prescription is almost -6 in both eyes; I wouldn't be able to see anything without my contacts or glasses. I can't even imagine what it would be like to never see clearly; it would be virtually impossible for me to live my life. These realizations caused me to walk away from the experience with the desire to influence others and make them see (no pun intended!) how easy and fulfilling it is to influence a less fortunate person's life.

Recounting stories from my mission helps to urge others to get involved. One story in particular always stands out in my mind because I have never seen such bubbling enthusiasm and appreciation. It was the first day of clinic and we were all excited and curious about what the day would bring. Since it was my first mission, I woke that day feeling nervous and anxious, yet extremely energized and eager to experience what I knew would be the experience of a lifetime.At 7:45am, the Misison members entered Camp Mariah's dining hall and were greeted by an enthusiastic young boy. "You guys have the van, right," he said, clapping and jumping up and down; "The one that I can get glasses from?" The boy hurried alongside us, unable to contain his excitement, while we humbly smiled and felt a warm feeling in our hearts. He started to tell us about how he had broke his glasses almost a year ago and could not replace them; the school year had been very difficult for him and he had been anxiously waiting for the day GOS would come to camp. His excitement was infectious and soon the other kids had surrounded us, bombarding us with questions and stories about how badly they needed eyewear.

We happily began setting up and watched as the kids waited patiently for us to be ready for them. A line formed outside the infirmary, where we were administering the visual acuity, tonometry and auto-refraction tests, and soon the process began. After these

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