Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?
The day I began to understand the true merits of helping others had finally arrived. Thus far in life, I had been restricted in a naïve shell from which I had provided help without consideration of the impact upon those around me. Yet this moment was different. I finally realized the potential I had to positively change others' lives.
This profound experience occurred while volunteering at Valley Presbyterian Hospital. I was escorting an elderly gentleman out of the hospital, expecting a relative to pick him up. To pass the time while we waited we talked and I learned that he had no family. He told me of his solitary life in a low rent apartment, and of his sickness, which confined him to weeks in the hospital. The fact that he was going home to no one touched my heart. When the cab did not arrive, he became irrational. He began thinking about walking thirty miles to his house and progressively deteriorated to contemplating suicide aloud. This startled me and made me take him back to the hospital to make sure he was alright. I was willing to do anything to prevent him from harming himself. It was sad seeing the man sob as he saw nothing but pain in his future. He had nothing to live for - no children, no wife, no friends. For me, this was unimaginable since I have always had my friends and families to comfort me during the troubling times of my life.
Since my experience with the elderly man, my views on life have changed. Having always been nurtured by parents in a safe neighborhood, I saw a part of this world that I had never seen before. It was after this realization that I got more involved and began to care for those in need. I took on an active role in caring for the community by helping at the senior center. By meeting some residents of the senior center, I began to see that the elderly gentleman I met was not the only one who was alone. Some had no one to live for as they had outlived many of their friends and most of their family. The feeling I got from helping people who were alone paralleled the way I felt when I tried to protect the elderly gentleman. My goal was to give these comfort-deprived individuals a sense of family and unity to shield them from becoming irrational like the elderly gentleman. At the retirement center, I tried to make the residents feel more comfortable so that they could have an opportunist future to look forward to. These aspects provided the elderly with a sense of joy and a will to live.
What may have seemed a small experience at the time led to ever-lasting effects on my character. I changed my perception of the lives of the less fortunate and my feelings towards them. Through kind acts, I was able to put smiles on senior citizen's faces. This was a constant reminder of the satisfaction that I received when I made sure the elderly gentleman would survive. My meeting with the gentleman definitely inspired me to reach new levels of kindness and understanding of what others encounter on their path through life.
I only found a few small things, your essay is great!
I finally realized the potential I had to positively change the lives of others .
... active role in helping the community by volunteering at the senior center.
The feeling I got from helping people who were alone, paralleled the way I felt...
...shield them from becoming irrational.I think a word more having to do with depression would be better here.
...comfortable so that they could have an optimistic outlook, and something to look forward to.
What may have seemed like a small experience at the time, has led to ever-lasting effects on my character.
It changed my perception of the lives of the less fortunate...
