Even as a young child, the sight of a homeless man hunched in a corner, his stooped shoulders, bearded face, and melancholic eyes staring pleadingly at me would be enough to make my heart fall to pieces. I have always been a person who was aware of those suffering around me, who showed people that I—a stranger—saw them, cared about them, and would help them.
Being eight years old, I was already someone who picked out unused clothing and with my mother, brought them to homeless shelters or Goodwill. During Christmas, I would go and pick out an action figure to donate to ‘Toys for Tots’. I would ask my mom for canned food to donate to the food drive. I would fish out the last of my coins and drop them into a homeless man’s cup, just to see a ghost of a smile momentarily flit across his weatherworn face and hear the simple words of ‘thank you’.
Throughout my entire life, I have never been the type of person who expected things to happen. I made them happen. I helped others through choice because everyone deserves a chance at living life and being happy. I chose to donate my hair to Locks of Love, walk a 5 K marathon for breast cancer, raise over 1,000 dollars to save our sports, raise more than 900 dollars in less than one week for cancer research and treatment, and then swim 1.5 miles in the San Francisco Bay for that same cause. I did this to give millions of people hope and strength to fight against their adversities. I do this so people do not have to suffer and do not have to watch their loved ones suffer. When I hear that a little boy had to undergo kidney surgery because of cancer, my heart stops. When I hear that the same little boy survived and lived to swim for the same cause I am swimming for; my heart is filled with warmth, because I know that the money I had raised and the swim I had finished had been used to save his life and the lives of many others.
My actions bring hope and dreams to many, help save the lives of millions, and raise awareness to those who are ignorant to the suffering around them. Awareness and my ability to take action is something I will never be rid of and am proud of because it has formed me into a compassionate person who sees beyond her own life and needs. It has transformed me into a better human being.
Being eight years old, I was already someone who picked out unused clothing and with my mother, brought them to homeless shelters or Goodwill. During Christmas, I would go and pick out an action figure to donate to ‘Toys for Tots’. I would ask my mom for canned food to donate to the food drive. I would fish out the last of my coins and drop them into a homeless man’s cup, just to see a ghost of a smile momentarily flit across his weatherworn face and hear the simple words of ‘thank you’.
Throughout my entire life, I have never been the type of person who expected things to happen. I made them happen. I helped others through choice because everyone deserves a chance at living life and being happy. I chose to donate my hair to Locks of Love, walk a 5 K marathon for breast cancer, raise over 1,000 dollars to save our sports, raise more than 900 dollars in less than one week for cancer research and treatment, and then swim 1.5 miles in the San Francisco Bay for that same cause. I did this to give millions of people hope and strength to fight against their adversities. I do this so people do not have to suffer and do not have to watch their loved ones suffer. When I hear that a little boy had to undergo kidney surgery because of cancer, my heart stops. When I hear that the same little boy survived and lived to swim for the same cause I am swimming for; my heart is filled with warmth, because I know that the money I had raised and the swim I had finished had been used to save his life and the lives of many others.
My actions bring hope and dreams to many, help save the lives of millions, and raise awareness to those who are ignorant to the suffering around them. Awareness and my ability to take action is something I will never be rid of and am proud of because it has formed me into a compassionate person who sees beyond her own life and needs. It has transformed me into a better human being.
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