When you walk in, there are at least a dozen wheelchairs, surrounded by the murmur of voices and the sound of footsteps falling on the tile floor. Down the hall there is the sound of television playing and people laughing. This was the environment of the nursing home where I used to volunteer.

I volunteered at Clear Creek Nursing Home every Saturday for six months. While there I saw how attached some of the residents become. Some have no visitors and are all alone. Their family members just dropped them off and never came to see them. So, I would keep the residents company. We would talk, do word searches, and go for walks around the building. When lunch time came, I would help serve food.

Around holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas the residents became depressed. The nursing home had a cheery look to it, but the atmosphere was sad. It was like they had given up hope of seeing their families. I started to go and stay longer wheeling them down to the activity area to listen to people playing Christmas songs on the piano. That seemed to cheer them up.

Even when there was nothing left to talk about and we just sat there, they were still happy. They knew that they were not alone. Sometimes, doing the smallest thing can mean the world to someone else. Going to the nursing home made me feel good because I knew I had been a big help and I made the residents smile. It showed how lucky I am to have my family around and know that they care about me.

I know that volunteering there made me realize that I want to live life to the fullest. I do not want to grow old wishing that I had traveled the world. My plan after high school is to go to a four year college to become an emergency room nurse. After I’m done, I would like to travel around the world to places like Europe, Canada and Australia. I can apply a lot of what I’ve learned from volunteering to everyday life. I am able to show people that I have strong leadership qualities.