"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
-Ghandi

I have always been one to say that if my life sucks I should go and serve another. It's almost my die hard motto. This does not mean that I succeed at it, nor do I manage to get out of my rut sometimes to actually serve. What it does mean is that I know that through the service of others we heal ourselves.

Thursday morning I set out with a car full of people and bags. We headed west for six hours. Drove into the deep center of the Appalachian Mountains. I was heading out on a trip that I have been excited about for months. I was participating in a program called RAM (Remote Area Medical). This is an outsourcing program that goes to remote areas with high populations of uninsured, under-insured, unemployed, or under-employed people and provides medical and dental care. I went as a student pharmacist to gain practice in my community outsourcing. I spent four days waking up at 4am to arrive on-site by 5; by 5:30 I was in Triage shuffling patients through as fast as my partner and I could go. I talked with patients, did their work-ups, and then sent them on their way. I worked until I was physically exhausted; by the end of the day I had enough stamina to eat and shower before I fell into my bed in a deep sleep.

My one goal for this trip was to know that I had given my all to help these patients. At the end of the day today, as I changed from my soaking wet clothes, I looked at my partner and we both smiled. We knew we had given our all. The drive home was almost impossible. We were all so mentally and physically tired that I never thought we would arrive home safe.

Now that it is over, I wish I could go back. Throughout the days I earned the name of smiley because even at 5 in the morning I was smiling for my patients. When I think about how some days it seems like a chore to put a smile on my face because the world is weighing me down it makes me sad. It makes me determined to strive a little harder to serve EVERY day. Life is so easily put into perspective when you are in the service of your fellow being. True joy and happiness comes from that service. I hope that as I start my week tomorrow, I can find at least one person to serve each day.