It All Begins with the Smallest of Ideas
My name is Christian Dzema and like every average fourteen year old, I play sports, chill with
my friends, listen to music, focus on my studies, like to be rebellious, and love sleeping. When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with polymicrogyria, a condition in my brain that affects my fine motor skills and speech. I had difficulty moving my tongue and lips to create basic sounds, like “s, sh, f, ch, and w.”
My parents began sending me to the Pediatrics Program at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network in Allentown, Pa., for therapy. I’ve felt different my whole life and most peers mock my speech or judge me unfairly. But it’s been ten years now since I started therapy and Good Shepherd has helped me overcome my disability. I am now a fluent speaker and well-coordinated physically. I am more confident and am able to have a conversation with a complete stranger. I don’t stand out any more.
For the last six years, I’ve been collecting toys for children who are hospitalized. So far I’ve donated 1,000 toys. My school, Orefield Middle School in the Parkland School District in Allentown, has embraced the toy drive as a way to connect with the children who go to Good Shepherd. The toy drive gives comfort and brings happiness to those who are less fortunate. I believe my charity has brought hope to many children who feel alone, rejected or judged.
This summer, I delivered 75 toys and games to the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital Pediatric Unit- Bethlehem. I met one of the patients there, a teenage boy. It felt amazing to to see his humongous smile, and the vibrant energy around us felt incredible. I actually felt popular, and having him tell me how cool the drive was really made me overflow with joy.
Music is a big inspiration in my life and motivates me to give back. Music speaks in ways that are unexplainable and incredible. The lyrics help me cope with stress and understand true problems. Music is my escape from reality, it helps me imagine a different life where people aren’t judged by how they look or talk or walk, but by what they do to help others. It guides me through life and helps me see that I’ll be okay and unlike some teenagers, it motivates me to put my frustration into something productive.
My toy drives not only comfort others, but they help me to personally manage my own worries and prove that the smallest movement, the tiniest of ideas can start a prodigious movement. As a teenager, I sometimes feel stereotyped. But with my toy drives, I want people to know that underestimating and stereotyping only makes them less knowledgeable. A wise man said not to judge a book by its cover and that is my reasoning for my deed; the deed that gives hope and shows that the younger generation does care and has a strong and forceful voice to do extraordinary things in this world.
I am continuing the toy drive this spring at Orefield. I never thought that my small donations could bring such happiness. Good Shepherd is an amazing organization and without their kindness and helpfulness I know that I wouldn’t have the friends and the support that I have today.
I am Christian Dzema and I donate toys to the pediatric unit at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. This is my revolution and my legacy, a legacy that began with a simple innovative idea.
Review from #MyGivingStory