Kyle

A part of my life that I would like to show is that I enjoy volunteering. For about two years, I've spent my Thursday afternoons at my local hospital. Somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like an obligation and became something that I actually looked forward to. I started volunteering to do something useful with my free time, trying to give back to the community, although I didn't really know what that meant at the time. I assumed that the most important part of volunteering would be completing tasks. For me, this included wheeling patients between departments or to their discharge, delivering lab samples, or organizing various files for hospital staff. However, I realized that what I enjoyed the most about volunteering was seeing the impact of my work through patient interaction. Talking to patients about their operations, life experiences, and families was what stood out to me most. Being in the hospital was difficult for most patients, especially those who had difficult operations and were anxious to get home. Many of them just needed someone to talk to. As a volunteer, I learned the value of being present as a friendly face to someone who could use some happiness.