Prompt 1: Please share a volunteer experience and its impact on your life.

Since I was little, I have had my goals written down.  One of these goals is to make a difference in people’s lives each and every day!  At age 14, I ruptured a disk playing volleyball.  Since then, I have had multiple back surgeries and injections with even more surgery pending   Even after missing nearly two months of school I managed to maintain high marks in my daily class work.  Times have been financially hard for my family while trying to stay ahead of all of the medical bills.  It has been through these tough times that I came to realize that even though I am unable to participate in what many other teenagers consider normal activities such as sports, I can concentrate my energy on the things I CAN do!  Inspired by this, I undertook a golden opportunity through a church organization and signed up to do a nine-day missionary trip to the orphanages of Kingston, Jamaica, where I helped care for the handicapped, disabled, and even AIDS children.  This is where my love for volunteering originated.  It was an immense undertaking for me to earn the $1500 needed, but through hard work, I earned enough to cover the travel costs for a friend as well!  Besides caring for the children, I helped build fences, paint, plant gardens, move rock, and participated in many other necessary tasks for Mustard Seed Communities.  I purchased new clothing, bedding, towels, personal care items, and on leaving there, donated it all to the orphanages.  The remaining money for the trip was donated to the orphanage itself by personal choice.  I came home with only the clothes on my back.  

                Each day, we were woken up VERY early in the morning.  I was in charge of making breakfast for my group, and for the occupants of the orphanage.  After each meal, cleaning was done.  We made sure each and every child was properly bathed and clothed at the beginning and end of the day.  We completed the chores that were necessary for the upkeep of the community.  I helped assemble informational pamphlets.  However, our most important task was to be there for these outstanding children whose parents had abandoned them.  They needed someone to love and care for them.  We were there to show them that there is good in the world. 

I found it to be the most amazing experience of my life and would do it again if I had the chance.  Even though many of them were unable to communicate with words, their smiles and actions said so much more.  Their appreciation showed through their eyes, their tender touch, and grateful hugs.    I feel this has helped me focus on the problems of others more than my own and gave me a very new and different perspective on life.  Seeing these orphans as outcasts in their society made me want to help them all the more!.  We here in America take so much for granted and there are others who have so very little.  We find happiness in material possessions.  While I was in Kingston, I played with the children for a majority of the day.  No, they did not have the latest and greatest toys, but were completely satisfied with the simplest of things.  Instead of a Louisville Slugger and a brand new ball, they were content playing with a mango and branch.  They cherished the friendships that they had formed rather than superficial materials.  As in the recent hurricanes and earthquakes around the world, what we have can all disappear in a minute.  This lesson has taught me to look at people on a deeper level.  One of the children that touched me most on this trip was Anthony.  He was a hydrocephalic, four-year-old boy.  He had never had sight, speech, or hearing.  He had never seen the beauty of the world, nor the ugliness of today’s society.  He was always happy.  After speaking with his nurses, they had told me they had never seen him cry.  He had been one of the happiest children there.  On the last day of the trip, I had a very difficult time saying goodbye to everyone.  As I held onto Anthony’s small hands, a tear fell from my face onto his hand.  I found it so touching when he reached up and wiped away my tears.  It seemed to me that he was telling me, “Everything will be okay.”  It did not make leaving any easier, but it was comforting to know that he was at peace.

Having undergone surgeries and undertaken this trip, I appreciate everything I have and know that I can and will be a valuable resource to the healthcare field.  I feel that a career in nursing will help me continue toward my goal of helping someone each and every day.  I feel I have a grand start in this direction having achieved this life-changing trip.  This is where I originally found my love for nursing.  I plan on achieving my bachelor’s degree.  I hope to find a job in the obstetrics or pediatrics side of my career.  This way, I can help heal the most vital part of society-America’s youth.  During college, I plan on participating in study abroad programs and take part in trips such as my missionary trip.  This will allow me to reach out to those less fortunate.  I may not be able to provide all of the material possessions they require, but I am able to give them an important part of my life-my time.  It is not much, but to them it is everything.

The recent news of the drug wars in Kingston has urged me to return even more.  The aid that these children need is not being provided because of the cancelled flights and it breaks my heart to know that they are lacking the one thing they look forward to most-new friends.  This trip was more invigorating and rewarding than I could have ever imagined.  It has taught me that there is truly nothing better than the feeling one gets while caring for those less fortunate.  The lessons I learned will stay with me forever and push me to help other more than ever.  I learned that the poorest of people could be the richest in heart.  I hope to carry out this richness in heart each day of my life to come.