I work serving food to the terminally ill and have been touched by the kindness of many dying people.

I'm a recent high school graduate and have been saving to go to college. Unfortunately, the money is still not enough and I have decided to push my plans to next year and it's okay. I don't feel sad about it.<br><br>I work in palliative care in my country as someone serving food to patients here. Most of our patients are terminally ill, with an average life expectancy of 1-6 months left to live. They are here to make themselves as comfortable as they could. They have lived a full life. I met someone who lived through world war II, one who graduated nursing college with my grandmother, one who graduated college with my mother. Many were older than my grandfather.<br><br>They have nowhere to go. Most are alone and abandoned. One patient told me that she never married in her entire life, and now has nobody to take care of her. My heart was crushed. Another said he lived with his son and daughter in law, who told him to find somewhere else to go and it was his choice to end up here. Many have brain damage and don't remember a lot of things, but the worst part is, many were mentally sound. They are completely aware of their surroundings, they still know how to speak, they are calm, and mentally okay. They are very good, but the problem is their body has deteriorated. They still have a full mind but their body was too weak to carry them to continue living life.<br><br>I have nowhere else to talk about this, so I decided to here. I have nowhere else to go. I still continue to work here, but recently, I have been receiving touching gestures from these patients.<br><br>The first one was a small chocolate cake, taken from their food last night. They gave it to me and told me, "Eat this. I don't want to eat this anymore. I'm too full." This person was mentally sound and has been one of my sweetest patients. They were someone who goes with the flow and calm when dealing with anything.<br><br>The second one was a patient who I heard from the other volunteers that this patient has some candies that they brought from home. One day, they sent someone to tell me that they have candies and want to give me two. The other volunteers serving food with me that day also got one, but I got two. They said. "This one is for you, this one is for you too." One is a sour candy and the other one is a gummy candy. They were my favorite and I still have it. It's been almost 2 months. I still haven't opened it and I don't want to. I want to save it and remember them by it.<br><br>Another one was a patient who gave me a stick of lemon and chili dip, and a roll of bread. I still haven't opened them yet and still plan on saving it for a long time. They are an elderly lady who is mentally sound. They were very aware of their surroundings, they knew exactly who I am and asked for me. She is a patient we seldom see since she often stays in bed. But when we pick up the plates, they suddenly called me. I was surprised and said "Sir/madam, is this for me?" They were thinking I was someone else, but I told them I was someone else, but their eyes lit up and said, "I was looking for you!" And gave me the food.<br><br>The last one was about two weeks ago. The patient told me to sit on the bed so I did, they put something inside my pocket and told me to don't tell anyone. I laughed and agreed. They said it's our secret, and I had totally forgotten about it until I went home to change my clothes. Hidden in my sweater pocket was a folded $5 bill. My god, I felt so touched and guilty at the same time. I didn't realize it at that time, but now I do. This dying elderly lady, gave me $5. It's barely enough to buy a meal, but the thought of an elderly woman handing me $5 when she could have used it to buy herself something is. I was speechless.<br><br>Lastly, another patient about two weeks ago told me to stop by their room and gave me a chocolate cupcake with a berry fruit. They called me their friend and told me to come back again sometime.<br><br>I don't know what to say, but they still continue to inspire me to continue this work and I will continue to do so. I may have made a mistake postponing my college, but I feel like this is better. What I learned from these people were something no class can teach me. I have been a different person since working here, and I'm still growing and they helped me become a better person.