Date & Time # 2

As I participated in the Bridges Tutoring Service, I realized quite a few things; I did not have to be there, the kids did not have to be there, and the service did not have to exist. But out of thoughtful consideration and proper reaching out for volunteers to assist with the tutoring of the children, the opportunity was made possible. During this opportunity, both parties gain education, knowledge, and the benefit of being useful or being guided. It is not every day that we can feel useful or change someone’s life with a little help. Especially if you’re like me and deal with depression, one will regularly go about their day feeling useless and a burden. 

Phil Kaye’s expressive writing persona informs his readers in his poems of how his personality leaped from high energy and impulsive and then reduced to low energy and sinking in his own sadness and insecurities. I am able to relate to this sudden transition and change of mood from childhood excitement to being completely remote from feeling useful or excited: a pessimist. Helping children has made me feel more useful and it makes me feel like I have an actual purpose. I used to assist my mother with daycare and even though taking care of little children can be hard work for the most part, at the end of the day I felt that I was useful to them and their parents and the things that I helped and guided them with will probably have a lasting impact on their lives. At the tutoring service the children are more than excited to have other people assist them and look forward to it; something that I miss from my childhood – being absolutely excited for the smallest reasons. 

We are given so many reasons to be grateful for our lives on a daily basis and there are so many opportunities and options that we take for granted because as we get older, we set expectations and false perceptions of situations that our mind s piece together from past experiences. We need to focus on not just what creates our own happiness, but we need to also focus on how we can contribute to others’ happiness and growth and in that we can even fulfill our own happiness and flourishing. Not everyone is going to live a long and flourishing life, so we need to do what we can with ours and help others to make their lives as fulfilling as possible.