Be the Change by Hannah

Be the Change by Hannah - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

During 2012, destruction and disaster struck Colorado with the Waldo Canyon Fire. In the blink of an eye, people's lives were flipped upside down and shook around. At the time, my father was part of the County Animal Response Team (C.A.R.T.) and assisted during these situations for large animal evacuation. Wanting to be part of something that would impact others, I asked him if it was all right I tagged along. By the time we arrived at the Norris Penrose Equestrian Center, the fire had been ongoing for three or four hours. There was no limit to the number of trucks pulling trailers with animals inside. Horses, goats, mules, donkeys, cattle and all varieties of animals came streaming in to the shelter. The heat was blazing down making working conditions uncomfortable and tense. While people signed in their animals with my father and others, I volunteered to take them to designated stalls and make sure that the animal was in the best care possible. We all spent that day swopping jobs, from mucking stalls, watering the animals, getting fans set up to keep them cool, patrolling the ground to keep wonderers out, checking people in, directing traffic, taking in donations, making sure the owners were coming to feed them and the list just keeps growing. I have always had a love for horses, so I was normally found in the horse barns trying to keep them calm and cool. In all honesty, the day passed in a blur. Before entering this situation, my look on society was not particularly positive one, but as time wore on that negative outlook began to change. When the fire started we had nothing to start the shelter, but when the deputy at site called in that we needed supplies, people brought water, food, hoses, fans, water buckets, feed and anything that we could have needed. The people of this society were pulling together in a time of need, asking nothing in return. As night descended, the only decrease in anything was the temperature.

As the days passed, and the incoming traffic increased, I began to spend lunch with an interesting woman. She must have been at least 75 years old, and came to practically live at the animal shelter, spending time helping others. Once day we were walking down the barn to water her horse who looked her equal in age but also her equivalent in stamina, when I decided to ask her why she was doing all of this. I then learned that her house burned to the ground, and her horse Purity, was all she had left. I instantly felt sorry for her, but not for the rite reasons. She was blessed to have Purity, and seemed to care little of all her lost possessions. She helped me to understand that the material items you have are not as important as living family. For her, having been widowed, and her son marry in a different state, Purity was her family. Quoting a simple line from Gandhi, she answered all of my questions. "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Now, I try to live by this standard, Caring and putting other people's needs first. When I helped out with the Black Forest Fire in 2013, I tried to be someone to look up to. Even though these were horrific tragedies, they helped me learn so much and become the person I am today.