The Blood in my Veins

Yesterday was a pretty satisfying day. The fact that it was Valentine's Day, a commercialized excuse for people to engage in activities for carnal purposes, had nothing to do with it.  No, actually, the only Valentine's Day presents I received were a sucker from one of my friends and some things from my mom (one of which was Hot Lights, Cold Steel, something I had wanted quite badly.) It didn't really faze me that I didn't have a date this year; my day was so much better than that. I donated blood yesterday for the first time. It felt fantastic. No, not the actual act, which included a finger prick and a huge needle stuck in my arm for about 15 minutes, for a whole process that interrupted about 3 hours of regular class time. But that one pint of blood is capable of being 3 units of blood for those who need transfusions. That means I could have saved up to three lives yesterday. For free. The very thing that runs through my heart, my heart filled with only the best intentions and desires to help others, will be the very thing saving someone's life. Part of me will become part of them.  How much closer can I get to giving my whole heart to another person? It just thrills me, to think of what it could mean. What if the blood goes to a young child or an infant? Or my future spouse? Or the future president? No matter what, that person will be someone's somebody.

Yeah you, you talk about love.