On a crisp fall afternoon, one in which St. Louis showed the beauty of its bipolar weather, I was greeted with a smile and warm “hello” from my Buddy. Sitting near the window at the large denoted “greeting” table, my Buddy was ever so excited to see the mass of young faces which had quickly filled the room.

“What are we up to today?” 

I asked. I typically greeted every Buddy and tried to engage in at least a few moments of small talk with the entirety of the room. Beside my Buddy was another resident, whom I had often included in my Buddy and I’s activities, as she had not been paired with a WashU volunteer.

“Oh, not much just sitting here waiting for you.” 

My Buddy replied. She often could be found waiting for her routine-like volunteers to arrive or powerwalking throughout the hallways.

         Click. The car door swiftly shut behind me as I started up the stairs towards the volunteer facility with my peers. It was a beautiful spring morning, and winter was finally starting to disappear, leaving only remnants of itself through the occasional, cool breeze.

We were greeted by the staff, who were always kind and friendly despite it being nine o’clock in the morning.

“This way!” said one of the nurses.

I walked down the winding corridor and pushed the button for the elevator, seconds later I arrived at my Buddy’s floor.

Before I could even greet my Buddy,

My alarm started to yell right at eight in the morning. I hopped out of my dorm bed and began to get ready. It was almost Halloween, and the entire campus had a buzz of excitement for the festivities ahead. I was especially excited to see how the volunteer facility was decorated, as every previous holiday, the staff had gone all out on the décor.

         My fellow volunteers and I hopped into our cars and started to the facility. On the way, we listened to some Halloween classics, including “Thriller” by Michael Jackson and “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell.

         The moment we arrived, we were greeted with a spooky tunnel of spiders, cobwebs, and pumpkins. I knew when I saw my Buddy, I would ask what her thoughts on the decorations were.

“Hey there!” I called. My Buddy was already at a side table with another Buddy, Mrs. M, and looked up in excitement when she heard my voice.

Zip. Snap. My coat was fully secured as I departed from my dorm and started towards the North parking lot. To my surprise, it started to snow as I trudged through the previous snowfall, which had, fortunately, decided to not freeze over.

As I made my way to the parking lot, I noticed that I was alone, but after searching for what felt like days in the blinding white environment, I spotted my volunteer group huddled inside the foyer of a nearby building.

“Everyone ready to go?” Asked our chapter’s president- to which she received numerous nods and an enthusiastic “Let’s go!” from a fellow volunteer.

By my fifth week of volunteering, I had mastered my routine. I would wake up, get ready, grab a blueberry muffin from the bakery on campus, and head to the meeting spot. Once I arrived at the volunteer facility, I would put on my nametag, walk down the long corridor, and head to the elevator.

One can imagine the bit of surprise that followed me when I could not find my Buddy once I arrived at the second floor. She was not at her usual spot at the table, nor was she in her apartment. Where on Earth was she?

I glanced around the room and finally spotted her: she was on the couch following an aerobics workout video. My Buddy had often talked about being active, mentioning multiple outdoor walks a day and retelling stories of her running days. Over our time together she had proved that she was both young at heart and in spirit.