Reminiscences On The Event That Made Me Happy

“Something that made me happy”

Life is like a puzzle; and when the pieces fit, you finally see what you have to do but before it does you have to be an active person with an open mind. This happened to me when I decided to become a volunteer during my school vacation and help those in need. I wasn’t looking for that and the thought had never crossed my mind. It was like this opportunity found me. I am thankful it did because I would not have known how other people live among us or how it feels to do something without expecting any payment, and I am very dedicated to it now.

It all presented itself a year ago with a school project which was mandatory. We had to prepare a presentation about any volunteering organization together with my friend Daniel, me and Daniel had been close friends since childhood his parents worked for a company that had opened a new branch in our area so they had been transferred there to work. Our friendship started when we began playing football at the same filed since we grew up in the same neighborhood and had gone to almost the same schools in the neighborhood, we normally shared our snacks on the way back home he was a good goal keeper whereas me, I played as a central defender. We decided to write about volunteering in national parks since we are both very concerned with environmental protection, so it seemed like a natural choice.

I started googling for information first, and there were several intriguing options. We almost started writing when Daniel said: ‘speaking of volunteering, after the project is ready, we should search for a place where I could donate my stuff! ‘Daniel is a beginner minimalist. He believes that the fewer things a person possesses, the more productive his or her environment is, something which most people would not be able to adjust to or even think about. I am quite interested in the idea too, but at that point, I was not ready to go giving my possessions away. However, I insisted that we had to find it right away because I knew how important it was for him.

We started looking for shelters and organization that gathered different kinds of donations. Daniel didn’t just want to get rid of stuff. He was set to give his things a new life and make other people happy with them. He had some clothes, shoes, gym materials, books, furniture, a travelling bag, a couple of stuffed animals from his sister Trisha to give away. Daniel’s sister Trisha was in preschool and she had a couple of old toys that she did not want any more so we got them for other kids. We kept reading about people who might have needed any of those, and it struck us how little we knew about people who might have needed any of those, it also struck us how little we knew about life.

There were so many homeless people: veterans, kids, and the elderly, those who lost everything during an economic crisis or because of a hurricane. Moreover, there was a real tragedy behind each story which made it painful for us to hear, but it also made me realize to always be thankful and grateful for whatever I have. We were very sad about all these, how could they be so unfortunate in life. We thought: ‘who in such a situation would appreciate a pair of old shoes when they do not even have where to live? ‘We wanted to help so much with the little we had. That is why we decided to help to visit one of the volunteering communities in our city.

We were sincerely surprised that volunteering took everything we brought eagerly. They explained to us that even a small joy could set a homeless person’s life on a new course that whatever meaningless to us could be a great deal for someone else, we were so happy that we made a difference in their lives that day. It’s always the small little favors that we do for each other that makes life tolerable sometimes.

We left those things and felt a little more lighthearted it was a very pleasing moment to offer help to others. However, the next day I felt the urge to come back and to see what else I could do since I did not carry any of my old things in our first visit with Daniel. I packed everything I wasn’t using anymore which wasn’t quite much but I knew that no matter how little it was it would make a difference in someone’s life. I called Daniel, and he was happy to join me and he got someone to drive us down there. At the community office, we were told that we could come each week and help gather donations as well as delivering them to those who needed them, we were so happy to get the offer of volunteering there because we had holidays coming up and we had not yet made up any plans on how to spend the holidays.it has been a year since then, and I have never regretted our decision to become volunteers.

Every step we take can bring us to our destination in life so we should do what we feel is right and our true calling will find us somewhere. Every person who shares their ideas with us and supports us can lead us to life- changing decisions, intentionally or not. So it does not matter what we do or who we know. We should take opportunities and see how it turns out. Last year, I did and I am very happy and proud to have done it am sure it can boost my career when I had to résumé. I want to help others and I hope to inspire as many as I can with my example no matter where they are or who they there.