Hampton High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
8 March 2020
Lanie McLaughlin
When thinking back to my life as a little kid, I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t worrying about someone else. Whether it was who was sitting alone at lunch or a kid not playing on the playground, I always felt this ever urging need to help people. As I got older, I realized that helping others was a type of an “out” for me. Growing up with generalized anxiety showed me that helping others can also really help you find who you are as a person.
Moving forward in life, I have decided to do multiple things that help others in my community and also outside of my community. Whether it’s helping young girls believe in themselves, or spending time with senior citizens who just need someone to chat with, it really opens your eyes to how others are feeling. My volunteer work is an extremely important part of my life. I’ve learned over the years that taking a step back and listening to others and what they need will show you how to be a better person overall.
Saying that volunteering has affected my life would be an understatement. It has given me the opportunity to be myself while serving others, and teaching me lessons I would never learn in a school setting. It’s a very different experience that not a lot of people have been able to go through in their life. I have been able to work with kids, teens, adults, and seniors all due to the fact that I volunteer, and I know how to make each person feel unique and appreciated. However, when talking about affecting other peoples’ lives, I can only tell you what I have tried to accomplish. When going to Houston to rebuild homes, I was able to be a part of a renovation on someone’s home that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. I have also been able to help children who are less fortunate feel like they have someone there for them. You never know what is going on in someone else’s life, so you must treat each person with respect and compassion.
As I move forward through life, go to college and eventually get a job, I believe my volunteer experiences will give me a head start in the future. Interactions and hard work are just some of the skills that I feel that I have mastered in my life so far. I can’t wait to see how my future ends up, and there are a lot of unknowns. But I do know that I will always be on the lookout for ways to help others.
