In the Spirit of Giving

I just got into a rather heated argument with someone today, so I'm about ready to vent. I am so, so, so excited about becoming an occupational therapist. What drew me to this career is that I will have the ability to spend every single day of my life making a difference in other people's lives, especially working with those with disabilities. My best friend in high school has a sister named Jessi that has Down Syndrome. Jessi is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. She constantly has a smile on her face, a positive outlook, and somehow seeks out only the good in people. What amazing and valuable characteristics for a person to have! For some reason, people like Jessi seem to get lost in the system, whether this be in school, in work, or in life. They seem to become devalued as people. I want to spend my life being an advocate for these people. I want to somehow make their world a better place, because they have blessed my world just by being a part of it. Some people do not seem to understand the value of spending time and money on helping those who may not have any other avenues of help. These people think that taxes spent on getting occupational therapists into school systems to work with people with disabilities and autism is not a useful way to spend money. What a shame. I understand that, yes, in an ideal world the parents of children who are struggling should be helping these students. BUT, even in this case, why should we not give a child every single advantage that he can possibly get! A child should not be punished because they live in a home with parents who are not actively involved in his life. There is no better way to spend money than by using it to help people! And this person also thinks that "I'll understand once I start working and all of my money is being spent on taxes". However, if my viewpoint about the worthiness of the cause of giving time and money to the oppressed ever changes, then I have become a person that I am ashamed to be. I believe that the only way to spend a life is to live life to the fullest, and with living life to the fullest comes living life in the spirit of making other people's lives the best that it can possibly be. So, here's a big cheer to those who believe that giving is the most important thing of all.