Reflective Essay About Helping Others

After much reflection, I believe that I am undoubtedly a humanitarian. I’ve realized that promoting the welfare of others is the single most rewarding thing I have ever done.

If there is one thing I am passionate about, it is people. My most sincere desire in life is to make positive connections with great people — to enhance my life and theirs as well. I want to know what makes others tick, what they're afraid of, and how they can he helped. I’ve found the most difficult people for me to understand, are those that bully or make life harder for others. Being a visible minority and being bullied have been challenges for me, but if anything, I believe these experiences have helped me to imagine other people in a more complete way. To take the easy way out, and simply write people off as “bad” does no one justice. In reality, every “cruel” person has their own complicated struggles and reasons for acting the ways they do. I’ve learned that understanding these people is the first step to everyone acting with more love and kindness.

Sometimes, I find my own feelings to be quite confusing, and I don’t always know how to make myself feel better or fulfilled. I’ve learned it’s often easier to help others, because it cheers up the people around me, thereby increasing my own happiness as a byproduct. I love putting my energy into something productive and meaningful, and I genuinely feel like my number one hobby is humanitarianism. I started in small ways, like doing chores for my mom before she asks or explaining an advanced concept to classmates, as well as in larger, more traditional ideas of humanitarianism, like raising thousands of dollars, being the president of my own not-for-profit start-up, or giving out thousands of free chocolates to students feeling the stress of