What Matters Most | Shenel Ekici

As a member of Downbeat, I always look forward to our annual holiday tour when we take the day off from school to travel around the Bay Area, spreading holiday cheer. In addition to being a great opportunity to perform and bask in the applause of hundreds of people, it’s also one of my favorite community service events of the year. When we visit Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, the Alzheimer’s unit, and assisted living facilities at The Forum, we go caroling in the halls and in patients’ rooms– it’s those moments I remember long after the sparkly dresses go back in the closet. The incredible people I've met in such instances have taught me that giving back to your community doesn’t always entail long hours of volunteering at a soup kitchen. It can be something as simple as encountering a sick child in a hallway, their parent following with an IV pole or oxygen tank and seeing a gleam come into their eyes as they join in on “Frosty the Snowman.” It’s watching a peaceful smile spread across the face of an elderly patient as you take song requests by their bedside. Sometimes it’s just sitting there, holding their hand and listening to their stories. In its simplest form, it’s connecting with people. The human ability to share such profound moments with complete strangers and the joy and gratitude received in return…that’s what I’m thankful for this holiday season. That’s what makes this world so wonderful.