Call to Service by Katelyn

Call to Service by Katelyn - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

Many individuals underestimate the power of helping others. Within the last year, I have had multiple opportunities to get out of my comfort zone and put the needs of others before the needs of myself. Initially, I signed up for these events with the sole goal of helping others, however, I quickly realized that I was helping myself and changing my personal views too.

In the summer before my senior year of high school, I went on a mission trip. During the trip, we worked with various families helping with yard work, painting, and cleaning in Beattyville, Kentucky. One day during the trip, we organized a party for grandmothers who were raising their grandchildren. The majority of these kids were in difficult situations because their parents were usually abusive, involved with drugs, and unable to care for them. I gained a profound insight one day when one of the boys named Preston tripped on the pavement. I got up to help him as I noticed that his knee was bleeding, and I carried him to the kitchen to give him a Bandaid. After he went back outside to play, I realized that he had never cried. The majority of the kids I babysit for would have cried for a long time for an even smaller injury. This caused me to think about Preston’s life at home. Crying calls for attention, and a mistreated child does not want more abuse, so they tend to remain silent.

Another inspiring experience on the trip was working with Helen. We had split up into different groups, and I was assigned to spend the day cleaning her home. We were warned before entering that her house was probably different from anything we had ever seen, but I did not understand the full extent of what my teacher meant. Helen lives alone in a log cabin, and after entering her home it was evident that she had been unable to take care of it for a while. The majority of the food was expired and moldy, hundreds of dead ladybugs covered the tables, and the smell was overwhelming. However, after meeting Helen, all of the hard work became worth it. She is partially blind and recently broke her hip, but her personality was upbeat. Helen was so happy and appreciative of our simple presence that doing the work was a privilege for us. I was so inspired by her radiating happiness that I realized my problems are irrelevant to the goodness in the world. Problems and one’s response to problems and pain are two different things--one can be controlled. One cannot praise others and be sad at the same time.

My experience on mission trip taught me many invaluable lessons that I now apply to multiple aspects of my own life. Since then, I have continued to volunteer and help others, and I now work with patients who have traumatic brain injuries. The call to service has developed and grown in my life, and I encourage anyone who is searching for a purpose in life to transfer their time to helping others.