Words of Thanks

AG, La Jolla High School, D21

This month especially, my club got really excited about writing letters to healthcare workers. Last and during quarantine in general, we had spent a lot of time writing cards for this organization called Service Salute, which credited service hours through a google form (and image submission) on its website. Unfortunately, that weebly website no longer existed when I looked for it this year. Instead, we turned to Words of Thanks, another online organization that spreads awareness to healthcare workers’ awe-inspiring and arduous efforts to keep people safe. We wrote over twenty cards in the thirty minutes we were (are) allotted for lunch, and sent them off to a hospital as designated at the end of the google form we filled out for service. Thus, although it is through a different website, we are continuing the service of thanking healthcare workers who continue to toil for strangers’ safety. Even though it is a simple task, I feel humbled when I am writing these cards. If a smile can light up someone’s day, then so can a card expressing gratitude. It is difficult to put into words how much these workers’ selflessness means to me. They are risking their lives for ours - mere strangers. It takes a lot of courage and inner strength to get up every day and put one’s own life in danger for another person. I cannot begin to imagine the mental and physical strain such a task would evoke. My dad, as a pulmonary and critical care specialist in the intensive care unit, has dealt and deals with that every day. That’s why it is so important to me that we write these cards - we are reminding the healthcare workers that their work is inspiring and that they matter.