A caring nature is a fundamental aspect of being human that enables us to connect with others and positively impact their lives. Connection with people is very important to me, and my worldview leaves me with no choice but to strive to positively impact others’ lives. I demonstrate a caring nature in my character, allowing it to influence every aspect of my life, and then overflow into other's lives. The people in my life mean a great amount to me. I strive to care for them as I would myself. In any interaction I have, I try to look out for others and take the time to acknowledge them, being intentional about talking through things with them. I want to make sure I have a correct understanding of the situation, and then I try to respond in a way that leaves everyone better off. By making sure that people’s voices are heard, it is easier to come to a resolution in a situation that is more beneficial to everyone involved. Another way I strive to care for others is by being willing to lend a hand in any situation. If possible, I want to be able to serve the people I care about in a practical way. If this is physically helping them through service, then I will gladly offer my help to them. For example, I love offering rides to my younger friends that are not able to drive. It offers me a chance to spend quality time with them, but it also allows me to help with the resources I have. If the need is just listening to others, I can do that. I understand that not everyone needs advice, sometimes things just need to be thought through out loud. If the need is guidance, I strive to give unbiased but also relevant advice. Someone very important in my life once told me, “A friend as a therapist should not be an exceptional surprise, it should be the bare minimum.” This is something I have tried my best to apply to my life, and my care for others helps me listen, advise, and love others to the largest extent possible. I demonstrate this with my friends, classmates, and coworkers by just being there for them if they ever need someone to talk to. With that being said, I will not hold back when it comes to honesty. I will be gentle, but I will not blatantly lie to make a person feel better about a bad situation. Because I care for others, I must tell them the truth. Sometimes the truth is hard to hear, but it is necessary. I would rather people I care about know the truth and be better off for it than to be stuck in a lie, possibly feeling slightly better for the moment, yet significantly worse off because of it. Often people are afraid to tell people what they think, yet I think that honesty is one of the defining qualities of truly caring for others. Ultimately, I think my character is best described as being caring. I value my relationships and connections with everyone, and I want them to feel that in my interactions with them. A little bit of care can go such a long way. As such, I strive to care for everyone I interact with and pray that this is noticed by others, so that they may feel loved, appreciated, and overwhelmingly cared for.

For me, service is a lifestyle. More than an act of kindness, it is part of how I live, how I go about my day, the choices I make, and the interactions I have. My biggest inspiration in service, especially in my community, is Jesus. When I read the Bible, I see how Jesus leads with servant leadership. I see how He loves the least of people with nothing to their name. It inspires me to pursue ministry in a way that I can serve others. The biggest inspiration from Him, by far, is His sacrifice on the cross. To see Jesus, the son of God, equal to God in Himself, laying down His own life for my sake and the sake of others is something that truly speaks to my soul. My goal in life is to be a lifelong servant of Jesus, and no matter where God ends up calling me in life, I hope to pursue this endlessly until the day I die. Even if God chose to take me in my sleep tonight, He has already provided ways that have allowed me to be His servant. Every opportunity He has already given me is also a source of inspiration. Currently, I volunteer at my church. I help run the live stream of the church service, starting it and managing the chat, all while making sure it runs smoothly. Getting to interact with people tuning in online has been very heartwarming. Shut-ins, seeing the service for the first time in a while, sick church members trying to stay caught up, and people just checking out our church for the first time make up the viewing audience. Seeing all the good that has come through the live stream is very inspiring, and pushes me to want to help more. Another way I have been able to serve is by helping out with childcare at church. I would watch younger children who were too young to sit in service without causing a problem, or at the very least paying attention. Doing so helped give me a love for not only service but children as well. The children have inspired me with their smiles, their laughs, and even occasionally their incessant crying. Being able to serve in this manner has given me several relationships, which I still cherish to this day. It has also allowed me to have experience working with children, which has inspired me to consider pursuing the field of youth ministry in the future. I am very grateful for any service that I have been able to provide and hope to be able to give much more in the future.