I have two majors ideas in mind when it come to life changing events: when my dad has his open heart surgery and when I went on a mission trip to Canada to help the less fortunate. These events changed my views in very different ways, but also in one common one. I found that you never can take anything you have for granted because it could be taken away in a heartbeat or there are others who are more grateful for the minimal blessings they have compared to you.
I am leaning more toward writing about my dad's open heart surgery because it has had a huge impact on my life and is still affecting today. During the early to mid sophomore year my dad started to get really sick and wasn't doing much around the house or going to work. This set off warnings in our family's minds and worried us a lot because he doesn't get sick much. After going to the doctor for three weeks they finally with a last ditch effort and checked out his heart by doing an angioplasty. Later that afternoon we found out he had two arteries blocked 70 percent and one coronary artery 100 percent blocked. The doctor told us the only way to fix it was with a triple bypass open heart surgery. My dad spent the next week in the hospital preparing for the surgery. The surgery lasted for 4-6 hours and was the most stressful day of my life. Luckily that night one of the nurses in the ICU knew us and let all of us go see my dad after he got out of surgery. Seeing him with tubes sticking out of him and barley responsive was one of the scariest moments ever. His recovery was slow and painful, but each day more and more improvement came. About a week after his surgery he came home from the hospital. I wish I would have been home when he got back, but I had a basketball game so I wasn't able to see him right away. That night after the game I was expecting to see him at home but my mom sent me a text that they had to go back to the ER that night. When he went to stand up he popped open some of the stitches in his leg and it wouldn't quit bleeding. Through all of this craziness I realized that your life could be ended in a heartbeat, so whatever you do don't do it half-hardheartedly, go all out with everything.
The mission trip I went on this summer also opened my eyes up to how much people take for granted in life. When we were in Canada, I saw how the homeless and disabled people I worked with take nothing for granted. They were grateful for every opportunity they had and loved just being able to talk with you about anything. Although my experiences were eye opening, I learned the most when we went on a tour of Toronto and saw how there are many people struggling and not being helped. An ex-addict told us about how he lived on the streets and where he would sleep. He described to us how easy it was for people to slip through the cracks and lose sight of themselves and never find a way back. By seeing how real everything was, it really hit home and showed me how we take almost everything we have for granted.
Going through these experiences has really put my views on life into a new perspective. I try not to take even the littlest things for granted now and I cherish every moment I have with the people I am with. I know some may say this is a grim way to look at life, but with my dad suffering from heart disease and my grandpa dying from it I have a different outlook on life.
Both are very good instances to write about. I could suggest a lot for both, but it seems that you're very drawn to the first topic. I can see that something like that would certainly change your views of how you live your life. I think the paper would be very heavy on your emotional argument (pathos) as well as have lots of logical (logos) scientific facts.
ReplyDeleteIf you tell the story of your father, keep in mind how you want to structure it. I would think about the key moments that really stand about during that time and perhaps work chronologically. Your overall message about the fragility of life is universal, and anyone who has watched a loved one in that sort of situation has an even stronger connection.