I know you think I am too young, just another kid. Thinking I am doing all that you did. But you don't know my past, you don't know what I have seen. Just what were you doing when you were a teen?
Were you hanging out with your friends, joking and having fun? Or perhaps partying out in the open sun? How about hooking school, just to sleep in? Maybe even playing a game of ball, hoping you would win?
Don't take me wrong, I have done my share. But there is more to me, more for me to bare. I have had to grow up quickly, understanding what I see. And even sometimes I wonder if this job is for me.
At the age of nineteen, I maybe called a child. But the tragedy I have seen has been nowhere near mild. In the three years I have dedicated my life, Sometimes I ponder how I managed so much strife.
My arms have held a lifeless child, only the age of three. Upset at myself, wondering why this had to be. I have looked in a mangled car, to see my peer. Telling his friends he did not make it, without shedding a tear.
I have seen the face of someone who has lost it all. Watching as they see the last of their fiery house fall. Need I continue with the sadness I am called to each day? However, there have been good times I must say.
I have had the pleasure of announcing, "It's a boy!" To see the parents smiling, full of love and joy. There has been a moment of silence between my patient and I. Only to hear her say in a faint whisper, "Thank you for not letting me die."
I have gathered with my brothers and sisters after a dangerous call. Thankful to count heads and know we have them all. I work with a team, a family of friends... Knowing I can count on them no matter how the road bends.
So if for some reason I am to leave this earth before I am old. I have saved a life and helped a neighbor, and my story will be told.
