"Your Face is a Canvas"

     Fridays at the Real Life in Salt Lake Program are days for artistic expression. This Friday, about 35 of us gathered in the gym of the Columbus Center to paint each others' faces. Before we started, Ellie announced the activity. "Pretend that your face is a canvas," she told us. And with that, we donned garbage bag bibs, partnered up, and squirted paints on to paper plates. Then our fun began. While some volunteers' faces were turned into those of zombies, others were decorated with brightly colored designs and decorations. After the hullaballoo of painting one another was over, everyone crowded around to take pictures of their beautiful (or frightening) faces. One-on-one time with the kids is always special, and the volunteers get to know the kids on a more personal level.

     The Real Life program continues to bring smiles to the faces of refugee teens, and they found this past Friday to be particularly enjoyable. It's simple, but a few tubes of paint and a camera can make us all really happy. I'm really lucky to be able to spend so much time with these wonderful people, and seeing them have such a good time really makes me glad I'm a part of Youthlinc.