Blood Drive: A Short Story

The school bell rang, I knew it was time. I followed the signs that read, “Red Cross Blood Drive” with a bold arrow pointing to our school gym. As I stepped through the door the cool breeze hit me, and chills spread through my body; I was shivering and I wondered if it was because I was cold or just nervous. It was my first time donating blood and I was terrified, but not of the pain or needle, I was terrified of passing out from losing too much blood and completely embarrassing myself. Medical beds were arranged in a circle with bodies on top of them and one lifeless arm dangling down from each, dripping blood into a blood bag.
I was lead to a bed and told to lay down and relax, but how was I supposed to relax when I was about to lose a pint of my blood! I kept reminding myself that I was going to save three lives, which seemed to calm me down. Blood fell through the tube and into the blood bag as I turned to my friend, her blood was going fast; mine seemed to be taking a lifetime. Staring at the ceiling, stars started to appear as my body laid on the bed paralyzed. Just as I passed the halfway mark, nurses started whispering and then turned to me to say that my blood stopped pumping
Feeling like a zombie throughout the rest of the day, my classmates and teachers praised me for donating, I just gave them a slight smile and continued with my day. I couldn’t bring it upon myself to disappoint them also. When I got home and told my mom what had happened, I received unexpected advice. I was told that it is not the experience itself, but what you take away from the experience because everything happens for a reason. I learned that we must take the negative part and look at it from a different perspective so we can see the opportunity to make it into something positive. My donating blood experience is now something I can look back on and laugh about, it has allowed me to expand my