I really don't know how I feel about the program ending. I do know that I will miss it and the people I've gotten to know and love from it. Some decided to stick around till graduation while others moved back to their home towns. Although it was only 9 months of knowing all these people, it felt like it's been a lifetime. They definitely have had a huge impact on my life, but I guess there's always a time when you have to part ways. I wish them nothing but the best in their professional endeavors. For myself, I decided to serve as a AmeriCorps member for City Year New Orleans while applying to medical school. I already know its going to be a difficult year with over 1700 hours of service, but that is the experience and hopefully it will shape me into a more compassionate physician. This past month I volunteered at the salvation army soup kitchen while also doing my Meals on Wheels initiative. As mentioned before caring for the homeless population is very dear to my heart. Nothing puts a smile on a persons face like food does. So I started distributing canned goods at first to people around the city. Although the canned goods seemed like a good idea, some of the people I interacted with indicated they didn't have can openers to open the food. Others said that there was no way they had anything to heat up the canned items. This made me shift from canned items to fruits. Fruits are easy to eat, healthy, and have nutritional value unlike those canned goods. Every morning this past month I tried to find someone who I could give some fruit to, whether it be a banana, orange, or apple. The smiles I have seen have been priceless. It has been a successful experience indeed and I plan on pursuing this as long as I stay here in New Orleans. They all know me now as the fruit guy and are always waiting for my white car to approach them with some delicious fruit.
April Community Service Hours: 40
Spring Semester Hours to Date: 40
Total year service hours: 71
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