Caring is Kindness with No Strings Attached

Caring to me means to show love or compassion towards people I know or do not know. I try to care for others in many ways such as inviting new people to sit at my table, helping students who are struggling, and being friendly all the time. I also try to be caring outside of school like feeding the homeless, helping my mother with chores, donating clothes to places like goodwill and salvation army, and trying to volunteer as much as I can to Union Rescue Mission and at my church.

I volunteered at Union Rescue Mission during spring break. Union rescue mission is a place that cares for homeless women, men and kids. The homeless population is growing and Union Rescue Mission helps to make sure that the population does not grow, but that it shrinks. I was there Wednesday and Thursday, from one pm to four pm. The experience of volunteering there has not just taught me to care for others but to be grateful for the things I have, the big things such as a house and the small things such as paper. I learned that some people in and out of our county do not even dream about getting these things because they know they cannot afford it. I learned that people are being fed and helped by places like Union Rescue Mission. I also learned that I need to do it more often. That experience was so eye-opening and changed my views of lots of people out on the streets.

Another example of me caring for others is when I volunteered for an event going on at my church. I go to West Angeles Church of God in Christ. The church does a lot of volunteer work but the one that stuck to me the most was when we took a van around the city and fed homeless people who live in tents or under freeways. We gave them food that personally I would eat and we gave them two bottled waters. When we gave it to them, their eyes lit up and they were so happy that we cared for them like that. They even told us their life stories. I cried at most of the stories.

The pure definition of caring is displaying kindness and concern for others. I learned that to care for anyone is hard because you have to care so much that you will do anything for them but not care enough that they will take advantage of you. I have put that into practice and am making sure that I am a caring person.

I try to be caring because I would like someone else to treat me in that same manner. If I need a pencil, I would like for someone to offer me a pencil. If I did not offer you a pencil then some people might think “Why should I give you my pencil?” The answer for me is out of pure kindness. So I am just going to try to make sure that caring is in my everyday practices.