The Imperfect Caregiver

The following is a guest post by  Minaal Khan, an 11th grade student at John Champe High School in Aldie, VA.

As teenagers in the age of technology, we need to be less materialistic and spend time with people as well as our favorite devices. People are who make the world a better place and who provide beneficial social interactions. We need to stop ignoring people and start using devices less often. Helping people can make you a better, worldlier person. This will make you truly appreciate the world. Hearing about someone else’s life can inspire you and may even change you for the better.

Teenagers need to start giving back to the community and helping others. We are at the age that will define us as adults. If we do not start giving back now, we will never do it as adults. We need to be thankful that we are healthy and appreciate what the generation before us has done to ensure that we are raised properly. They left us a great world that we can make even better by spreading kindness and selflessness. Everyone deserves to have someone help them when they are in need, so we should be kind and care for people who may have neurocognitive disease.

Caring for people with Alzheimer’s helps you feel accomplished as you do something good in the world. It also reassures the person you were caring for that there is hope and kindness left in our world when so often all we see on the news is violence.

Caregiving is an act of kindness that the other person will remember and builds self-esteem. It does not require you to sacrifice several hours, you can also spend time with your friends or family.

Helping someone who has Alzheimer’s will also help the family of the person who has Alzheimer’s because they will know that someone is taking care of their loved one. They will not have to worry about finding a reliable caretaker which increases the cost of care.

Caregiving is extremely rewarding and can change the lives of many people, the caregiver, the person with Alzheimer’s, and the family of the person with Alzheimer’s. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment because you have made a change in someone’s life. We need to help others as much as we can.