(10/24/12)
Life has been super busy as of late. I haven’t had much time to really do anything that isn’t writing papers or dealing with personal issues, so I haven’t gotten around to doing much on campus. This upcoming Wednesday, October 24th, I’m going to go see the Dracula play, but unfortunately my hard-copy of this blog is due Wednesday, so I can’t really write about something that hasn’t happened yet. With the little free time I have anymore, I have missed the past four meetings of my club due to conjunctivitis, a partner project I had to work on, my father’s birthday, and simply being too stressed out to want to do anything. I hope things start to get less busy for me soon, that way my mental health can increase and I can get back to doing things I want to do instead of things I have to do. Anyways, this blog isn’t about me complaining, this blog is about the blood drive I helped out at back in September.
Previously, I wrote about going to the Get Involved Fair, which I actually attended while I was on my way to the blood drive. After stopping by the fair, I was on my way to Big Blue to go assist at the blood drive. Upon my arrival to the gymnasium, I noticed that there were probably about four or five other Honors students already helping out. I approached them and asked if there was anything I could do to help out and they told me to talk to a woman who was walking around and making sure everything was running smoothly. As they told me this, the woman walked over to check on them and I took the opportunity to ask her if there was anything I could do to help out. Much to my dismay, the woman told me kindly that they already had more aides than they needed, but she sent me over to the snack table anyway where two other Honors students were stationed.
As I approached the refreshment table, I was instructed by an older man, whose name I didn’t catch, to make sure those who had their blood taken came to the table and grabbed something to eat and drink. Practically everyone who got their blood taken knew this without needing the other Honors students or me to tell them what to do, so it was a pretty boring job, to be honest. However, I actually assisted a girl over to a cot when she said she felt lightheaded. I didn’t do anything besides stand there to make sure she was okay. The older man sat with her and talked to her to make sure she didn’t pass out and there was not really much I could do, so I went back over to the table and replenished some snacks and waters to make the table look more appealing. Other than that, I just stood behind the table and made small talk with those who sat on the chair that was opposite the table from me and made sure that they were okay, seeing as there was nothing for me to really do.
All in all, it was an interesting experience despite having so much downtime. When I wasn’t restocking the tables or making sure people were eating snacks and drinking water, I watched the nurses draw blood from those who donated and wished I was capable of donating blood to save a life. It’s amazing to see how many people are willing to help save other people’s lives, even if they’re doing something as simple as donating blood. Someday, I might be able to help people and save lives, though my mind changes weekly about what I want to study in college, and I’ll feel as good about myself as all those people who donated blood did.