"Oh, come on, come with us!" my best friend whined as she confidently scribbled her name on the service sign-up sheet. As each one of my friends scratched their names on the list, I glanced hesitantly at the service site description: Soup Kitchen. Oh no. I had heard about that place, the grimy, filthy, diseased-filled soup kitchen. Bums and perverts filed in every day looking for a handout while greasily hitting on the volunteers. No way, not for me. But, before I had time to express a slightest complaint, my name was forged onto the list as the last space filled.
As I cautiously idled into the parking lot, my fears were confirmed. Outside, a line had already started to develop, and I considered reversing my car right back out of the parking lot, but before I could ponder the consequences, I saw my friend making her way over to where I was parked. She pulled me right out of the car and ran with me inside to where I was instantly handed an apron and a pair of latex gloves.
What I originally thought of as a headache ended up being a blessing. These people weren't perverts looking for handouts; these were ordinary people dealing with what life had issued them. Seeing mothers reassure their children that tomorrow they would return and consume one more meal that they might have not had; seeing fathers wrap up their own meal so that their child could have another meal that night; seeing the gratefulness in their eyes when families are asked if they would like another serving of mashed potatoes; seeing the heartache in parent’s faces when all of the extra bread is gone; and seeing the look of utter desperation when explaining to a child why they couldn’t eat like this at home. These are the observations that made me realize how much of life itself I take for granted, and ultimately allowed me to press forward to try to understand the human condition, and uncover a purpose behind life, beyond the basic need for survival.
I came to this conclusion: if the world and all its elements acted independently, with no other regard for anything else, there would be no hope or faith of a greater scheme. As I continue to learn from this experience, I intend to try to inspire the community around me, to reach out, as I have, and begin molding a better world for the remainder of this generation, and the ones to come.
As I cautiously idled into the parking lot, my fears were confirmed. Outside, a line had already started to develop, and I considered reversing my car right back out of the parking lot, but before I could ponder the consequences, I saw my friend making her way over to where I was parked. She pulled me right out of the car and ran with me inside to where I was instantly handed an apron and a pair of latex gloves.
What I originally thought of as a headache ended up being a blessing. These people weren't perverts looking for handouts; these were ordinary people dealing with what life had issued them. Seeing mothers reassure their children that tomorrow they would return and consume one more meal that they might have not had; seeing fathers wrap up their own meal so that their child could have another meal that night; seeing the gratefulness in their eyes when families are asked if they would like another serving of mashed potatoes; seeing the heartache in parent’s faces when all of the extra bread is gone; and seeing the look of utter desperation when explaining to a child why they couldn’t eat like this at home. These are the observations that made me realize how much of life itself I take for granted, and ultimately allowed me to press forward to try to understand the human condition, and uncover a purpose behind life, beyond the basic need for survival.
I came to this conclusion: if the world and all its elements acted independently, with no other regard for anything else, there would be no hope or faith of a greater scheme. As I continue to learn from this experience, I intend to try to inspire the community around me, to reach out, as I have, and begin molding a better world for the remainder of this generation, and the ones to come.
1 comment:
got it. Thank you for posting your college essay. extra credit granted. - elmeer
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