March Blog Post

March hours: 6

Total spring semester hours: 7.5 

This month I volunteered at the humane society and the Broadmoor food pantry. This was my first time at the food pantry but I’m signed up to go back next week. We were able to supply about 35 families with food which was a great feeling. One of the people receiving a box of food kept talking about how grateful he was and I couldn't help but smile. At the end of the day as we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave, the volunteer coordinator had brought her mom and her mom started screaming. She had found 3 dead mice on a sticky trap in the pantry which was really gross but her reaction was priceless. Unfortunately, she found another 3 dead mice on another sticky trap but at least we didn't have to see any alive. At the humane society, I really love spending time with the animals but it is so sad to have to leave them but even worse to go back a few months later and see that the ones I have spent time with and bonded with are still in need of homes. One of the volunteers that has been there for years was telling me about a rescue he did when the humane society first opened and they rescued 22 golden retrievers that were hoarded in some person's backyard. As me and the older volunteer were talking some more he warned me about all of the heartbreaks that come with being a volunteer there. 

I enjoyed the psychiatry module this month but having 3 tests all on one day was a challenge to say the least. It was kind of weird to think about all of those medicines and how many people we probably know who have to take them. I feel like mental health is not taken as seriously as it needs to be and especially in my generation where people don't know the true meaning of these disorders and so they have become over generalized and misused. I know a handful of people who suffer from depression but these same people are the ones who are always making other people laugh. A family friend's son who was 15 years old and never showed any signs of depression but it ran in his family took his life back in November and it just made me so sick to think about how many other kids and people who suffer in silence. I knew him since he was probably 6 years old so it was just such an eye opening moment for me. 

On a happier note I got to visit with my great granduncles for one of their birthdays. My Uncle Larry turned 96 and my Uncle Eddie turns 93 in July. They got to meet my nephew for the first time too so we had all 5 generations together which was pretty cool. I feel very fortunate to be as close with them as I am and to have even known them at all is a blessing. My Uncle Larry tells me stories about his time as a homicide detective in New Orleans and he was one of the lead detectives on the murder of Dr. Mary Sherman. It is also crazy to see how healthy they are for being in their 90s. 



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