A Helping Hand

“Help! We are stranded in the middle of nowhere and all we can see are corn fields for miles. We are SO going to be late!”

That was the sound of a phone call to my mom on Wednesday during the middle of chapter visits. Grant and I were briskly driving to the next school on our checklist to give a facilitation that we were pumped for. It had been a long day, so naturally I was sleeping in the car while Grant was driving. But as we reached a four-way stop the car made a clugging sound and at that moment, sleep was the last thing on my mind. We had run out of gas.

              After calling my mom for help, Grant decided he would walk to the business across the way and see if they could be of assistance. Thankfully, a kind man brought us enough gas to get our car to the next station. I introduced myself and with that he informed me that he would be giving my grandfather grief soon for our silly actions. Soon, we took off again in search a place to fill up at.

               Sometimes we get into a groove of only helping ourselves and I am one of the biggest culprits of this. 

     I need to win this contest. I must be an officer in my chapter. I deserve that award. But when was the last time we took a step back and truly helped someone else? That is not an easy task considering the amount of sacrifice we must make; specifically with time. No matter if it takes 1 second or 1 hour to help others, it’s still our precious time that we do not always sparingly give away.

What some may say is the art of helping others should actually be called the art of living. If me make a conscious effort to help others, it will eventually become a part of our lives. Had it not been for the kind man giving us gas and sacrificing a minute of his time, we would not have been able to make it to our next school. Yes, that may seem like a minor task, yet it made all of the difference to the students we had the opportunity to impact. One small act by our hero created a chain reaction that eventually reached hundreds of other across the state of Indiana. Be a hero in someone else’s story. Take the time needed to truly help others and make it a habit in your life to do this. As Ronald Raegan once said, “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” If we all help one person in our lives, think of how better this world could be. 

Forever thankful, 

Emily Kilmer

State Secretary