AMH2020 student
“I’ve
learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou, author of that quote, is known
for her words of wisdom. She is a Pulitzer
Prize nominated poet as well as author, speaker and a civil rights activist to
name a few of her accomplishments. I
believe that over time you forget things that are said or done to you, but the
feelings you have, whether good or bad, stay with you.
There
are certain feelings that remind me of childhood. The bedtime rituals of a story, a snuggle and
getting tucked into the bed. The feeling
of the clean sheets and the cozy blanket that your parents wrap around
you. I don’t remember the words to my
favorite books or the stories my dad would make up about sailing the seas, but
I do remember the feeling when I was being put to bed. I was safe and secure and my parents were right
down the hall if I had a bad dream or just needed the extra hug. Bedtime is a time of day, an action, a place
in your home, but most importantly it is a feeling you get of security.
The
Veterans Village holiday party gift list included a blanket, sheets and gift
cards to name a few. New sheets and a
cozy blanket bring me right back to my childhood room and that sense of security. I am hoping that one of the guests at the
party picks these items and it helps them to remember their own childhood rituals
of being tucked into bed. My father uses
the word cozy a lot. We always tease him
about it as he wants to be sure everyone is cozy all the time. We have so many throw blankets in our home
that it seems rather excessive. I also
came to college with several so that the cozy feeling was just an arm reach
away. I am hoping the blanket brings
warmth and a deeper feeling of comfort to one of the deserving vets.
My
community service commitment began in high school with a program called Caps of
Love. In my high school we had many
disabled kids and one boy needed a very specialized wheel chair that would be
custom made for him. The school contacted
Caps of Love which is a charity organization that collects plastic bottle caps
and receives $.05 per cap from Waste Management to buy wheelchairs for people
under 21. A speaker from the charity
indicated she was looking for students to get involved. I noticed that my neighborhood had bottle
caps every week that were put out in the recycle boxes and no one realized how
important they could be to this one boy.
I enlisted the help of neighborhood kids so everyone took turns
collecting, sorting, washing and storing the caps before turning them in to
Caps of Love. The project became so well
known in our neighborhood that neighbors started leaving me bags of their caps
at the door. I managed this program for two
years before another student in my block became the manager. The project that started out as 20 caps a
week turned into over 500 caps that were used to contribute to his chair. The day this boy got his custom wheel chair
delivered to the school, his face was beaming and his mom was crying. I felt so good knowing that I contributed to
this effort. This proved that one person
can make a difference but the effort of many brings it to a larger scale.
I know
what it feels like to be overwhelmed or feel alone in a crowd. In Junior year
of high school, I fell off a cliff.
Falling off a cliff is an expression mental health professionals and
guidance counselors use when a student experiences a drastic decline in grades
or socialization. As dramatic as that
sounds, it was even harder to be the one falling.
Most people are quick to judge
a book by its cover. Ever since I have
been diagnosed with ADD, I am no longer one of those people. I have learned that every individual has
their own back story and that each person’s history has shaped them. I am more empathetic now and realize that
everyone’s story is worth knowing. With
all the tragic stories in the daily news, I know that people have burdens that
are bigger than Attention Deficit Disorder or receiving a bad grade during a
semester. Now if I see someone fall off a cliff, I may be the one to catch
them.
If perfection is overrated, then let me be the
first to say I live in an imperfect world.
No one wants to admit their weaknesses but I have had to embrace
mine. My grades are not perfect but
there is a sense of perfection gained from self-awareness. I did not think my diagnosis of ADD would
lead to personal growth, but that is one of the positives I have
discovered. My passion has always been
to champion the underdog and to stand up for the kids who are introverts or
chosen last for the team. I want to
channel my learnings from this condition and pursue a legal career that speaks
for the ones with the smallest voices.
Children and the disabled need an advocate who can help them through
obstacles.
Christmas is a wonderful time
of year, but to some it can also be one of the loneliest. Depression and anxiety can add to the holiday
chaos and what should be fun is often dreaded by those that suffer from these
disorders. If one person can make a
connection or reach out when you see someone stumble, the true spirit of
Christmas will shine though. Although I
will not be in town for the Veterans Holiday Party, I feel good that the gifts
will make someone feel special that day.
My dad will be happy someone gets a cozy blanket and I hope sleeping in
new sheets reminds them of happy memories of their own childhood tuck-ins.
