Feeling Privileged

Stories

When I was young I had awful stomach pains periodically. I can first remember them from 3rd grade. I would have a very intense painful fit about once a year, but it only lasted a few hours. This continued on until 6th grade. That year, I started getting the pains during spring break, only this time they didn’t go away! My parents kept telling me to relax, and that it was just a little stomach ache. After a few days I could barely walk because my abdomen hurt so badly. My parents took me to the doctor and they decided that I had appendicitis; I was rushed to the hospital. I don’t remember much after that, but apparently when they removed my appendix they determined that if we had waited much longer I could have died from the acid inside. I was sore for a few days but that passed quickly. It doesn’t seem much like a typical learning experience but I learned a valuable lesson from it. I learned to appreciate the times when I feel completely normal and healthy, and not take these times for granted. I guess you could say that I learn from being put in different situations in order to change my outlook on things. I would probably learn more if I was taught by different teachers on different days and in different environments instead of going to the same places at the same times every single day. Perhaps we could also learn about the less fortunate parts of the world more to make ourselves feel more grateful for our lucky lives.