Exhibit: Donating blood

Benchmark: Personal management

Skills: P104- Find a new and creative way to solve problems

            P107- Be self-motivated in taking responsibility

Every two seconds someone in the United States is in need of a blood transfusion. That is more than 41,000 needed donations a day. Donations are needed at such a high rate because among car accidents and other injuries, cancer patients, and sickle cell disease patients need these transfusions in order to live. When a person donates a pint of blood, which each person has around ten to twelve, size depending, it saves three lives. A lot of people are afraid of donating blood because they are unaware of how donating blood affects the lives of others. Donating blood not only gives the donor personal satisfaction knowing they’ve saved lives but it also helps find ways to solve the blood crisis. I recently gave blood for the first time even though I do not particularly like needles in my arm, I got over this fear and was encouraged by the thought that I was saving lives.

            I motivated myself to sign up for the blood drive because the knowledge I have as a future health care worker. I consider myself a quite philanthropic person because if I have the opportunity to affect another person’s life in a positive way, I will in order to genuinely make that person’s day and also life better, even if it is something as small as donating five dollars to a better cause once a month. There are currently 318.9 million people currently living in the U.S. 0ne and seven patients that enter a hospital need blood. Donating a small amount of your blood to someone who needs it is a wonderful thing to do and even though you’re one out of 318.9 million, at least you know you have saved three lives. Donating made me feel like I have done something good and it is very self-rewarding. I often will go out of my way such as giving someone money, donating to charities and food banks and I also have made baked Christmas goods for the Jackson Interfaith Shelter and dropped them off for the homeless. I don’t do these good deeds for recognition, it makes me feel like I am making a difference and that makes me feel good because I know I’m making someone feel the same way.

            There are always creative ways to help someone in need. I am willing and able to provide this help personally. In 2007 my family went through a really tough time with several family deaths and also a house fire and at this time we had nothing. It was the kindness and help from the community that kept us on our feet and allowed us to get back on them. Even though this help may have seemed small to the people who provided it, it gave us hope and affected us greatly. After the house fire we had a hard time affording new clothing since we could not salvage any of our old ones. Not only did we receive clothing donations from the church, but our neighbors whom we had only known for a year, took me and my two sisters to the mall and spent 1,000 dollars on each of us. They may have forgotten these kind acts, but for me I will always remember this memory because it impacted my life. It doesn’t require money to give a helping hand. I have made cookies, donated time, or donated something I have owned in order to make a difference. You do not have to be Bill Gates or a Kardashian in order to be charitable. Every person no matter their socioeconomic status can be creative in donating and being a helpful, kind person.

            Being creative and motivating in lending a helping hand to others is rewarding in itself. Being a dentist just as every healthcare worker, you have to be able to empathize and assist patients in their lives by providing quality care and preventative care knowledge. As a college dental student as I work my way up in my career I will grow to be even more empathetic and philanthropic because my training will include ways of caring for my patient and providing them with the care, treatment, and help they need and deserve.