It was a pleasantly chilly Saturday morning, as we drove to Beatitudes Campus. I did not know what kind of place we would be working at until we arrived. I said to my friend, “What do you think we will be doing?” She replied, “ I do not know.” I said, “I guess we will find out.” As we strolled down the parking lot and through the gate, I began to see elderly people everywhere, and that’s when it hit me, we were at an elderly home. My friend was as surprised as I was, but we were excited. We were glad we would be making a difference in such a sizable place.
I traversed the never ending hallway to another part of the enormous building. I signed in, and I was offered some delicious juice and other refreshments. I met a plethora of interesting people, who were welcoming and glad we were there to make their community a better place. We were separated into groups; it was a benefit that I got to be with my friends. The young lady that picked us and assigned us our duties was very friendly. She told us we would be picking up trash around the parking lot and buildings. I was amazed to see how much trash there was. As my gloved hand came down to pick up a chocolate wrapper, an elderly woman came along to speak with us, and told us she was also volunteering. She told us how wonderful it was to see teenagers taking their free time to come and help with what the people there considered their home. Before she left, she thanked me and the rest of the group a million times.
By the time the lady that was in charge of our tasks came back, we had covered half the parking lot and about two humongous buildings. She was very impressed with how well we did in such a short amount of time. For the next task, we had to pick oranges from trees. I had never ridden on a golf cart before, so I was happy when she had to take us on one to go across campus. While I picked disintegrated oranges, a guy in my group was shaking the tree, and oranges rained down on the freshly cut grass. I came up with an idea of throwing oranges like a softball, and watching them come down and rolling down the faded lines of the parking slots. We had been working for hours, and we had finished plucking oranges from at least five trees. The trees looked as if there was never any rotten fruit hanging from the branches.
During our break, we had a chance to talk with our leader. She talked about how wonderful the job was, but at times people get too close to the elders then on an unexpected day, they pass away. Shivers ran down my spine, and it stunned me how many times a day ambulances hurriedly come to aid senior citizens. I asked her about a job opportunity and told her I would love to work there. I realized that working with elders would be an inspiring opportunity to continue to work and/or volunteer. It will trigger my nobility to bring forward as many people as possible. I heavy-heartedly thought of how dreadful it is to lose someone you grow close to or are related to. Working there would be highly rewarding because I could meet new and wonderful people.
My undeniable involvement in volunteering at Beatitudes Campus uncluttered my eyes to the world. It afflicted me in a way I cannot describe, because even though those people seem to be happy, it must be difficult on them in myriad of ways. For instance, for them to be away from their families might cause loneliness. Most of the time they are put there because their families are not able to care for them as they would want to, because of their own family or work. It breaks my heart to know they are there without family around twenty-four seven, but I understand that they are there because they need to be.