A young girl races by me, and my eyes immediately lock on her face below her nose; it is bright red and smeared with fresh blood. For a split second, my heart stops in pure panic before logic takes over and, after a quick assessment, I realize she simply has a bloody nose. The girl grabs a cup of water from my friend, further down the track, and I turn to offer my services to the rest of the junior high racers. I am volunteering at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival. Volunteering is my way of helping those in need, and it is important for many reasons; It brings people and communities closer, and it provides help to those who cannot afford to help themselves. Because of this, community service is an essential part of my life. Food pantries and stores such as Beautiful Lives Boutique rely on volunteers like me to provide service to people who need help. Beautiful Lives is a nonprofit thrift boutique that helps women in difficult situations find hope. The shop has such a lovely atmosphere, and the people there make me feel truly valued. I want to contribute to that feeling in others and encourage them to give of their time and help change lives. I love connecting with other people who are passionate about serving my community. People who volunteer have a strong sense of respect for those around them; those are the kinds of people I strive to surround myself with. One of my extracurriculars, Civil Air Patrol, is a volunteer civilian auxiliary to the Air Force. For three hours every Tuesday night, I drill, teach, and lead a squadron of 50+ cadets in our mission to serve our community with integrity, excellence, and respect. After five years of volunteering my time for this squadron, I have met some amazing people and forged the strongest friendships I have ever made. For all of the effort I put into volunteering, I have received so much more in return. During my time in Civil Air Patrol, I have been blessed with many aviation opportunities, and I wanted to give back to the program that taught me to fly gliders. This year I drove 20 hours round-trip to Texas so I could spend 10 days sweating in 114-degree heat, teaching cadets how to flag towplanes and launch gliders. In the future, I will continue to give my time to programs like Civil Air Patrol, so that I can serve my community, and my community can continue to serve others. Part of the reason why I want to become a physical therapist is so that I can implement programs that make physical therapy accessible to so many who cannot afford it. With my background in aquatics and coaching, I can provide free aquatic therapy and swim lessons to children at the highest risk of drowning, such as those with Down syndrome and autism. Some of my friends are autistic, and they do not perform well in traditional swim lessons because they need additional attention. As a physical therapist, I would be in a position to offer professional services to people in need and help make the world a better place. To me, community service means uplifting the lives of those around me using the gifts that I have been blessed with - without cost, I have received my talents, without cost I am to give.