Submitted by: Submitted by umama1996
Views: 10
Words: 327
Pages: 2
Category: Spirituality
Date Submitted: 11/14/2015 06:58 AM
We have all experienced those turning points in our lives. The moments when we make a decision which changes everything, where we know that right then and there, we are re-defining ourselves and shifting the course of our life. One such experience for me was when I interned at the the Children's Cancer Hospital during my freshman year. We had to visit the cancer hospital every alternate Saturday for 4 hours and conduct a heart-to-heart conversation with the afflicted children, their parents and occasionally their siblings.
Like most teenagers, the symptoms of adolescence had struck me hard. I was rebellious, aggrieved and stubborn. I had not yet discovered the purpose of life, my goals, my aspirations. The gift of life was taken for granted. However, communicating with the cancer patients made me connect with them on an emotional level. I witnessed children struggling for life and there I was, wasting away my precious moments. It just did not seem reasonable. They say that the future of our country is the enlightenment of our youth and here, these newcomers to life, the apple of their parent’s eyes had been made devoid of it at such a young age. They all belonged to under-privileged families and were being offered a free-of-charge treatment. Some longed for their families to get reunited. Others were fighting for their parents sakes. Their parents, with sunken expressions, told me how long ago their kids were diagnosed with cancer, how long they had been away from them. The only thing that kept them going was the sheer feeling of hope.
Seeing all that made me question my being. Those children without even intending it, taught me a very valuable lesson. They made me value life, taught me how to live for myself and others in harmony, to achieve and never lose hope and to feel grateful for every single second of life that I have been blessed with.