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Social Work and Death - Common App


elina855 3 / 6  
Dec 31, 2012   #1
Exactly 500 Words, pretty urgent hahaha. Question is:
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

During summer I interned as a social worker in an elderly hospital in Guangzhou, China. The few weeks volunteering there have changed my outlook on life.

As a social-worker for the elderly, my responsibility is mentally preparing the seniors for the reality of age. One day after my daily rounds I noticed that a patient's bed had been cleared and the sheets removed. I thought nothing about it - some patients change hospitals frequently due to insurance. Only when I returned to the staff office did I learn what happened.

"Xinxin, do you know that a patient passed away last night?" my coordinator started.
"- No! What happened?"
"The Bo-bo that roomed with Mr. Huang passed away last night. His family already took his possessions."
Disbelief and guilt wallowed within me.
He died? But, I just saw him and his daughter yesterday! Why didn't I say anything to him?
Although my duty is to all seniors in the hospital, the patient who passed away had severe dementia; he had a twisted, blank expression and a sickly atmosphere, so I was afraid to approach him. However, I spoke daily with the handicapped Bo-bo's roommate, Mr. Huang, teaching him English and bringing him food from "the outside".

The Bo-bo had passed away noiselessly in the night, and within a few days, his bed was occupied by a new patient. It was as if a lifetime of existence had been heartlessly forgotten by society, and during the man's last stages in life I had chosen to add to this neglect. I wonder where he went. I wonder if I could have served him better: maybe if I spoke to him, or paid more attention; I never should have disregarded him...

It is natural to fear age, sickness and death as I feared Bo-bo, but death is an imminent future for all. If there is any equality in the world, it exists in that all men die. However, while death is unchanging and perpetual, life is short and full of surprises. It's a hackneyed saying, but appreciate the people around you while they are still there. People always say this to me, but my experience in Guangzhou really took this truism and nailed it hard into my skull. I won't know every single person on earth, and even the people in my life, be they family, friends, or downright nemeses, aren't here to stay. So while they are here, hold dear to the experiences, the smiles, tears, and sweat they bring me, and thank God for placing them in my life.

To this day, I still write letters to seniors of that hospital. I ask about their health, their caretakers, and their families. I tell them about my faith and my trust in God. The nameless Bo-bo painfully opened my eyes to the reality of life. I had entered this internship believing in a one-way-relationship: aiding the elderly men and women. I left the internship instead gaining from them, "aging" in more ways than one.
mr_scottyt 1 / 9 1  
Dec 31, 2012   #2
If you are looking to cut down from the current 500 words i might work with the "hackneyed saying" sentence. perhaps get rid of the first part and reconstruct the second to say something not so cliche.

overall there really isnt much to restructure because it is already very sound. excellent job on this
good luck!
foejeeney 1 / 2  
Jan 1, 2013   #3
elaborate on specifically what you learned from this experience. They'll read this essay maybe twice and many admission officers will want to see it tied into how it'll impact you in college


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