Personal Narrative

Sooner or later we carry the weight of life on our backs

“Good Afternoon, It’s me again!”

  This is the comment which I exclaimed each and every time I visited the day-care center for the past 3 years; helping elders who are suffering from dementia. And this three years of experiences have surely contributed a lot to who and what I am today.

(3 years ago)

<Summer vacation 2010>

  Due to my mother’s strong recommendation I started my first volunteer activity in the  day-care center. At first everything felt just awkward, trying to start a conversation with people which I barely know. In addition with that difficulty there was the fact that these elders were suffering dementia. So even though I came to the center everyday they had hard times remembering who I was.

  In such circumstances like this, I was starting to get weary of this volunteering. But, then I happened to stumble across a poster. “Sooner or later we carry the weight of life on our backs.” After I read this poster, it struck me that the reason why I was having such a hard time blending in was the fact that I was treating the elders only as a patient suffering dementia, whom needed protection, not as an ordinarily person. And this change of perspective certainly helped a lot to crumble down the unseen wall existing between me and the elders.

  In my second year into this volunteer program there was an elder whose dementia state was far worse than the others. And I was selected to keep an eye out for her in case she tries to leave the center which she often tries. So in my attempt to know and communicate with her better, I started a conversation. As it turned out there was a very intriguing experience from her past.  

  She was a young teacher during the time when Japan colonized us. As the situation was like that she was forced to catch and punish Korean students who used Koreans. Looking back she always felt sorry for the students whom she caught. For she believes that by catching them she went against the very meaning of being a Teacher. After I heard all of this I could feel the twinge of sorrow seeping into my heart.

  As the time slipped past I returned once again on 2012 Summer Vacation. However to my despair the elder which I was previously took care of was gone; taken to the hospital for more serious medical care. And few others were also missing for they passed out during my absence. At first this news was really hard to get over it, but it also gave me the motivation to pledge that I would try my best to help the elders in the given situation.

  Like this, what started as a forced volunteering exercise turned out to be the most valuable experience in my middle school life. As the time slipped by, now I am confronting my first year in KMLA. In such harsh times we are easy to become selfish. However, harsh may the situation might be I will always try my best to remember the fact that in whatever shape we show we are all same human being. “Equality is the true Justice.”