One Smile, Two Smiles
During my junior year of high school there was one night where my residential advisor handed out some colored paper to each of my floormates and asked us to write down a goal that we could work to accomplish. I thought about all of the goals I could write down. "Get into a good college," "Get good grades," "Meet new people" were all thoughts that came to mind. I think at that moment I had said one of my ideas out loud, "Meet Jackie Chan!" My floormates laughed at me because they knew of my crazy admiration of him. And as they laughed, I smiled too and wrote down (in messy bubble letter font) a new goal, "Make someone LAUGH everyday". As I'm writing this post in my room, I find myself turning my head every few moments to look at that sheet of paper hanging on my door. It's been 3 years, but I don't think that goal has ever stopped being important. I thought at that time, that even if I had a bad day, the least I could do was to make someone else's day a little bit better.
Before I started volunteering at the home, I had always wondered how people could be so committed to helping out a certain place or organization that they would include it as a permanent part of their lifestyle. I love community service and volunteering, but I thought that the volunteers at the home brought that to a whole new level. Some had volunteered there regularly for the last 7 years. These people and our conversations made me feel selfish because I don't really know anything I've been committed to for that amount of time. They had spent that much time and it wasn't even for themselves. It was for others. At the home, I quickly realized how easy it was to become so dedicated. Here, I get to fulfill my goal of making someone laugh and go even beyond that. It's become so satisfying to make the residents and their family laugh that I completely understand how the others have stayed here for so long. It's the beautiful environment, the people, the interactions, the learning, the teaching, and the comfort. They've been completing my goal since day one of their commitment and I 100% respect them.
The other day, I read an article that actually supported my goal. It was an excerpt from a book entitled, Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act. The author describes how a single smile can bring the brain as much pleasure as 2000 bars of chocolate or finding $25,000 can. If anyone ever asks why they should be a JNPH volunteer, simply smile and say, "Because it's worth it."