I have given blood twice before, once in high school and once at the local fire house in my town. I had no idea that Stockton hosted blood drives here and the process was not complicated in the least. I signed up online to donate on September 22, arrived the day of and was greeted by the slender, older man at the sign in desk. I read my pamphlet about how important it is to be hydrated and then moved over to the waiting area. Once I was at the waiting area the nurse escorted me over to the questions that a donor has to answer on the laptop to ensure the blood that is being donated is clean. After I finished my questions I went to the table and laid down. The needle was inserted and my blood began to flow. I enjoy donating because I know once that bag is filled there are three lives that I can save. People in my family have needed blood before and there is no other way to get blood other than to rely on the volunteer donations. I pride myself in knowing that three other people will benefit from a process that only takes me twenty minutes and causes me no pain. I am left with a tiny little scar on my left arm where my elbow bends and these three scars that I now have symbolize the lives that I have saved which totals to nine. I really hope that other people donate so we can band together and save even more lives.