What price tag?

To begin with, I have never had a job where I earned a salary nor have I ever been interviewed for a job (other than write a reflective paper as to why I wanted the job and usually it is the same reason as to why I want the job) position but since when does having a job mean you have to get paid or get something out of it in return? I've done numerous of jobs over the past year such as sing to the local nursing home, greet people at the entrance and pass out programs, stuff endless envelopes for the upcoming school year, even went to a presentation with my sponsor for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and heard quite interesting stories. What do I get in return you may ask? Satisfaction. For me it does not matter what the price tag these jobs have but by the end of the shift the moment when that person you helped out says thank you or praise you, at that moment when you have no words to explain as to how much you are thankful that they have picked you to do the job is enough for me. (It is also probably one of the greatest feeling to encounter.)

When I sang at the local nursing home it was my first that I ever sang in public, singing Amazing Grace and watching all those faces glow with new life gave me goosebumps. So glad I did not forget the lyrics though because then I will be getting goosebumps for the wrong reason. Most of the time they do treat those people with love and kindness, but not all do in addition they may get lonely. They are still people regardless of age and I feel sometimes people lose hope in the older generation but instead we should be learning from them. Just showing a hint of a caring gesture for others will get you places, and trust me it will change your life too. At the end of those two hours when we had to thank all the people who came to watch us sing, this lady sitting on one of the couches pulled me into a hug and was telling me how much I had reminded me of her granddaughter. She even told me "I love you", and like the socially awkward person that I am I replied with "thank you". Hey at least that was better than staring silently at her! I had no idea how I was supposed to reply to that because this was the first time something like this has happened to me, a complete stranger showing such passion to another complete stranger. It is the little things like these that makes me want to get out there and do more for my community. Restore some of the peace and know that it was you who was able to accomplish something. Even if it may be the minimalist thing such as cleaning the kitchen or the toilet you can still put your name on that task.

I could have not done this alone though. Everyone needs a push and I would like to thank my teachers of the International Baccalaureate program for giving me that push to remove my outer shell and help get my feet out the door. To go out there and create new stories that are just waiting to be made. Most of these stories would have not been created if I did not have a constant push to do more. This is probably coming out mushy again ahaha but the advice for today is that do not forget to think about others. Do not be selfish and think, "what is it to me? what am I going to get out of this?" because helping does not cost anything but time. Use your time wisely. You will always have time to think about yourself even maybe too much time because even I do get fed up about thinking about myself that I have to start writing down my own thoughts such as what I am doing right now. I'm pretty sure that you are stressing over things you can't change so why not think about things you can do to change something?

When was the last time you helped someone and what did you do to complete this task?

 Easter Parade with MADD

xx Chavelita