Carol by Taliyah

Carol by Taliyah - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

A saying goes, “With age, comes wisdom,” and in most cases, it is the truth. But, no one ever tells you what happens when age is also the reason you can become a child.
My mother became a social worker for a nursing home company in 2010. Most days she worked normal hours, but it wasn’t unusual for her to work late. She had become the best of friends with the nursing home’s activities director and would often help organize and set up activities for the elderly to participate in. Having two kids at the time (me and my sister) she often recruited us to help. It wasn’t long before I began volunteering where she worked. The one thing I loved to do, was talk to them. Their stories were thrilling, and they always seemed to enjoy the company, but there was one women, Carol, who I met with every day. Carol was unique, her beauty was still present with age, she liked to wear her finest jewelry, and she loved to talk about the farm she grew up on. But, everyday there was only one story. She talked about her ma and pa, as if they were waiting for her to come home. Where her ponies were out playing in the pasture, and her dolls were beautiful with dark brown hair. Maybe you’re confused? But surely, you heard right. Age had affected Carol. She no longer remembered. She had lost most (if not all) her memory except for one. She was a young girl around the age of 9 and she lived on her farm with her parents. In the nursing home she couldn’t have mirrors in her room because of the shock of thinking you’re 9, and seeing yourself 9 decades later would frighten anyone. A month later, Carol died. It was unexpected but peaceful.
I learned a lot from that nursing home. Critical life lessons and that helping others is always the right thing to do. However, Carol taught me the most. She taught me the joy of childhood, even with age. She also taught me that you can live long, but eventually time catches up to us. She always had passion. The folks at the home always expressed their life passions, whether it was cars, houses, or simply occupations they had pursued. It made me start to wonder what my passion was. Being in middle school, I had never really considered my future, but the one thing that came to mind was the ocean. The ocean reminded me so much of carol. The ocean has been a part of this earth for a long time, yet it still moves and plays like a young child. And, in its waters are the most beautiful creatures, just like the jewelry Carol loved to wear. Memories must be preserved, and so does the ocean.
I have found my passion in this most unexpected place, in a woman who no longer knew who she was, but this didn’t bother her because she knew what she felt, and she felt nine. Her farm is my ocean and her ponies are my creatures and we would do anything to keep them safe. I am working towards my passion, of a cleaner ocean environment for the organisms who call it home.