Rhapsody Blues

52. The Influences of Small Actions

About it:

In my AP Language and Composition class, my teacher took upon a different writing assignment for us, rather than our usual literary analysis that we had to churn out once a week. She asked of us to write a short memoir about anything that holds a deep meaning within our lives. 

So with that, I decided to pour my heart out about my volunteering experiences at the Project Cure warehouse, where I discovered that my work impacts the lives of others. 

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Stepping into the entryway of the Project Cure warehouse on a brisk Friday morning, I faced yet another day of volunteering, aimlessly sorting through medical supplies from boxes that were filled to the brim. The temperature inside was significantly lower as the crisp air nipped at my fingertips. Around me, some volunteers efficiently unloaded a new arrival of supplies off a truck, while others made a tally of the total number of boxes, taking note of it on their clipboards. I tiptoed around those who were heavily immersed in their tasks as if they were napping children that did not wish to awaken.

At the designated sorting area, my eyes slowly scanned every box that required to be sorted through. Large boxes were stacked on top of one another as if they were enlarged versions of a toddler's wooden-block toys. Slowly, I eased the heavy box into my arms before sliding it onto the metal workbench. Like a young child naughtily dumping the contents of their entire toy chest onto the ground, I tilted the cardboard box and watched the supplies spill out, immediately causing a mess on the table.

Midway through my shift, Bill, the sort team leader who had previously served as a doctor on several mission trips, entered. He gathered us around him, similar to how a mother rounded up her scattered children on a playground, to inform us that this week's supplies would be shipped to Haiti. The intention was to supply aid to those with deteriorating health conditions and to replenish their stock of medical supplies in hospitals and clinics. Recounting one of the situations he witnessed while on his mission trip, Bill explained how the new arrival of medical shipments saved a pregnant woman's life after her lungs collapsed due to several injured ribs. Ultimately, the woman gave birth to a premature baby, who remained in a stable and healthy condition. Upon hearing about how the work of this organization affects those in third world countries, a revelation struck me. These mundane tasks of sorting and packaging leaves major imprints on the transformations of other people's lives. One shipment of supplies has the possibility of curing someone else's medical ailments. At times while sorting, I witness other volunteers nonchalantly toss small pieces of plastic into the trash, unaware that they are umbilical cord clamps. Although from its exterior, the plastic may seem of little importance, the clamp actually prevents the mother from cutting the cord with an unsterile item, thus avoiding the spread of diseases to both the mother and the infant. Although disposing the seemingly insignificant plastic tool is deemed appropriate, its needs are a vital component in the sterile detachment of an infant from the birth mother along with the prevention of any transmitted infections.

The notion that any small action causes impacts on a future event can be applied to any scenario, whether it be in our lives or in a faraway third world nation. This taught me to appreciate the tiniest details in my day to day life; since one day, it will largely become influential in my future. Although many are fully unaware of it, a minuscule action possesses the capability to reconstruct events of the future.