Helping Hand

Helping Hand

Having fun, going to parties and making new friends are just a few of the many benefits you can gain when you lend a helping hand. Throughout my life I have always been willing to help others, no matter what the task, and this has recently benefited me greatly. When I look back on my many experiences, I have learned that it is both advantageous and self-satisfying to offer a helping hand to others because you never know what they can do for you in return and the satisfaction of knowing you helped someone is one of the best feelings in the world.

It wasn’t until last year I learned that lending a hand to others makes me happy. I wanted to help because I knew that there are people in this world that are not as capable as others to make things out of their lives. I tried to assist people in school and help them understand different subjects that they themselves did not understand. It was a lot of work helping people in this way, but in the end of the good friends I made would later assist me with the things that I could not do myself. I learned the valuable life lesson that when you give a helping hand, that hand comes back to help you.

During my senior year of high school I initially did not have a lot of friends because I had just moved to New Mexico from California. One day I helped a guy named Chris with his home work because he seemed like a nice guy, and was doing poorly in school. I met Chris because just about every day he would be behind me in the lunch line, I got to know him after a couple of days because he would ask me for a dollar and I would give it to him since he did not have much money. After helping him with his homework a couple days a week we soon became friends. Later I noticed people were starting to treat me differently because I was hanging around Chris and his friends. Chris was part of the Albuquerque gang called DTM and apparently a lot of people were scared of them. Chris told me that if I ever got caught in a bad situation, such as a fight, I could call him to come back me up. This personal connection, complete with friendship and protection, was all because I helped a random person in need.

Soon enough I met others who like to help others just because it made them feel good about themselves for doing a good deed. Upon entering the University of New Mexico I started to make a lot of friends. Among these people were those that shared my love of helping people. My friend Eric and I would go to La Posada, the school Cafeteria, grab as much take out as we could, and walk down Central. Walking down Central, with the cars passing us and people scurrying around, we would find homeless people and give them food. I am sure that these people greatly appreciated what we did for them and will not forget that there are people out there who will help them. I love this feeling of satisfaction that I was able to give someone on the street, who was much less-fortunate than me, one more day without the struggle of find food for themselves.

In the end, if you keep helping others, you not only feel good about yourself but also gain valuable friendships along with life lessons that serve as the guiding principles for the rest of your life. You might be helping someone who could be important and they will never forget the good you have done them.