Essay by Kendra Watkins
George
Washington Carver once stated, "How far you go in life
depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate
with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant
of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will
have been all of these." This quote expresses exactly
how I live my life. Everyday I make the choice to be compassionate
because one day I may need the same kind of help I give
someone else. This is not the main reason I do the things
I do. When I see a person or an animal in trouble my conscience
tells me that the right thing to do would be to help them.
The
way I feel now is not how I always felt. When I was nine
years old my family went through a very disturbing time.
During this period of time I stopped caring because it hurt
less than letting the pain in. I spent about six months
walking around with this outlook on life. When I saw some
animal hurt on the side of the road I would walk on by doing
nothing to help. When my frinds had a problem I turned them
away. Then one day everything changed. My best friend's
father attempted suicide and I could no longer turn my emotions
off. He was the one person who could snap me out of it.
From
that day on I started down the path that has lead to who
I am today. I can no longer walk by a hurt or abandoned
animal without doing something to change the situation.
One day my mother and I were driving home and we saw a dog
running down the center of the road. I made my mom stop
and we took the dog home with us. The dog had been pushed
out of a car and had extreme road rash on her chest. Everyday
I spent about a hour outside playing with her and applying
ointment to her chest.
About
a month ago I cut off most of my hair and donated it to
"Locks-of-Love" for a child who has cancer to
have a wig. In the fall I plan on attending Cal Poly San
Luis and majoring in Liberal Studies to become an Elementary
school teacher. When I graduate I hope to open my own animal
rescue and a safe house for abused and abandoned children.
Helping
people and animals should not be something one does for
attention but something that is done because it is right.
As Arnold Schopenhauer once said, "Compassion is the
basis of morality."
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