Putting Thought into Action

The past few weeks in my nursing classes, we have been talking about kidneys and renal failure. This sparked an idea in my brain: BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR

Crazy? umm, yah. But it is something that I have always thought would be an amazing thing to do. As a high schooler, I was too young and still under my parent's roof so I knew it wouldnt be an option. But now, as a sophomore in college, I was serious about it. I felt like I was being called to take the risk and save someone's life.

I believe my passionate response to this subject is largely due to my clinical experiences. After being on the clinical floors for three semesters now, I have definitely seen my fair share of sad stories. Whether the patients' bodies were failing due to their lifestyle choices or because they were given an imperfect system, I have been told over and over "take care of yourself. Be thankful to be young". I have left so many clinicals with an overwhelming thankfulness to God for giving me a body that has never failed to do all i ask of it. I have been severely blessed in health, so to me, giving an organ would be an expression of my thankfulness. It would be the ultimate gift: the gift of life, and I am MORE than wiling to do that for a person. The look of their face would be all the pay nessisary to convince me that the whole thing was worth it.

I did my research, then presented the idea to my parents. My mom was supportive and commended me for my willingness to give. My dad also commended me, but then very harsely forbid me from doing it at my age. For whatever reason, this crushed me. I cried and cried and i couldn't really figure why. But then I did:

To me, giving an organ without any pay besides the satisfaction of helping your fellow man was a way to live the uncommon life. I look at so many people around me and wonder how they can be happy with the direction of their life. They get engaged in college, get married, hold a steady job in the town they were born in, have children, and thats it. THATS IT. Where is the living in that life? There is no adventure, no risk, and no unduplicatable life experiences. Is a mediocre life with prescribed, simple experiences that every single other person their age is experiencing. I want to go places, have life changing experiences, make a different, and above all just do great things. Being able to donor an organ meant so much for me because it would be me taking the road less taken. Living Big.

This dream has been put on hold for a later date ( but it WILL happen someday); however, I believe other doors might be opening. After my dad forbid me from going through with organ donor, I explained to him what I stated in the paragraph above. To my surprise...he understood. Alot. Apparently, he was exactly like me at my age: wanting to do great things and matter in the world. He didn't do any of them, because he was afraid, but has done his part to help others complete theirs by being a huge supporter of missions in the church. It was his way of living vicariously through the experiences of others.

He admired my ambition and as an expression of that, he said he would personally finically support me in any missions I wish to persue over the next few years my life. He wishes for me to go out there to get all the experiences I wish so dearly to have. And so the pursuit of these experiences begins!

We have a lot of connections through our church, the Missionary Alliance. I am hoping that through these future experiences, I will be able to fulfill my dreams of helping those who have less than myself. I am in nursing; therefore care, compassion, and love is what I am made to give. And I want to give it to as many people as possilbe. New beginnings are exciting, and the crazy part is that these ideas and dreams will no longer be in my head. They will be actually happening. I believe that life is FINALLY beginning to happen, my friends.