Community Service

Community service isn’t about padding one’s resume, it isn’t about doing things so that one might be proud and arrogant about it. But it is the dawning realization of to the greater understanding our humanity, our fragility and a greater appreciation of the great lives that so many of us lead and deem to be “normal” when it pretty much is extraordinary in its own respect relative to many other individuals around the world. I spent my hours, dedicated to Community service, as an intern at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Although taking part in this internship was initiated in order to further my knowledge and experience in the medical field, I was taught how to make relations with unknown people that were for the most part, ill. This has been one of the greatest experiences because I got the chance to interact with many different types of people including doctors, nurses, hospital staff members, and patients. This was a double gift for me because my interests in medicine have been greatly expanded and I was given the honor of being able to help those that were in need, whether it was reading a short book to them, or even closing the curtain in their room upon their request. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”- Mahatma Gandhi. This quote summarizes my experience at the hospital, where I was able to find myself in respect to humanity. When I first got notice that I would be working in a hospital, I was ambivalent: thrilled that I would finally get a chance to experience first-hand what people of the health profession feel, and reluctant because of the atmosphere that would surround me for three hours of a day. Though my intuitions were right to some extent, I didn’t even get a chance to notice the shortcomings of my internship at the hospital. I was always busy with some job or another; from patient interaction to clerical work, my hands were always busy. The first day I went to serve my time at the hospital