Volunteering Experience

My life's work has always been volunteering, driven by an intense desire to make a significant contribution to society, the environment, and other people. Helping people around me has always brought me happiness and contentment, whether it be by volunteering at the Armenian Old House,volunteering at the Doctors of The World clinic here in Athens, or organising clean-ups of various locations in my community.These encounters made me realise the enormous difference that one person can make, which increased my feeling of obligation and compassion. Seeing the hardships and successes of people from different backgrounds motivated me to seek a career in medicine since it would allow me to combine my love of science with my desire to actually improve people's lives. While volunteering I have seen people less fortunate than I am which has allowed me to gain knowledge so that I can someday help people with an economic disadvantage to obtain the treatment that they need . Although becoming a doctor is a difficult journey, my volunteer work has taught me the value of kindness, commitment, and service. However important,interesting and fun volunteering at the clinic is, I cannot ignore some of the sad events I’ve seen there.Nevertheless, they keep me motivated to keep going on this road and to live up to the ideals that volunteering has given me: to be a healing and supportive person and to hopefully give my future patients the healthcare and treatment they deserve. Furthermore, volunteering always takes me back to reality, showing me that I live a very privileged life; one that is sadly denied to many. It is like I'm living in a bubble, sheltered from the world’s hardships. Therefore it is always a reminder to me to appreciate what I have and to not take anything for granted. In addition , I believe all people, especially aspiring doctors, should volunteer in a humanitarian organisation since it teaches them skills of communication which are essential for doctors. It also teaches them empathy, compassion and understanding which for me are integral for the development of a successful doctor .