Helping Out
    
Over winter break, I went to Umrah. Umrah is an Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. I went with my mom, dad, and older sister. We went around a big black stone and between two big mountains seven times each in memory of Prophet Abraham and his wife.
    
Our family and other families who had also come all the way from United States were all set to do Umrah. We each got our own headphones so we could stay in contact with our religious leader, who would guide us in prayers.

Suddenly, I saw a mother and her son looking very sad and gloomy. “What’s wrong?” I asked them.
    
They explained to me that they had not gotten a set of headphones because there were none left. Therefore, they would not be able to hear or follow the group leaders. The mom was almost in tears since she had come all this way, and now she couldn’t even complete Umrah, which is done only once in a lifetime.
    
My mom consoled her, but she was still very sad. I whispered to my mom, “I could give her my headphones.”
    
When my mother offered my headphones to the women, she immediately became very glad and excited. She could not believe that I had been willing to offer them to her. I explained that since I was so little, the headphones were actually too big for my tiny ears. I would not be able to use them anyway. It is not mandatory for children to do Umrah, but I would be able to follow my mother and repeat after her.
    
After we finished our Umrah, the lady hugged and kissed me, thanking me for my  generosity. We all had dinner together where she thanked me again, her eyes tearing up. This time, they were tears of joy.
    
Hopefully one day I will be able to experience Umrah for myself, but for now, I am glad that I was able to help someone in need.