Senior Reflection - Aaron Essien ('20)

On December 18th, some Holy Trinity students visited the Pediatric Long Term Care Unit of Brookside Multicare Nursing Center in Smithtown, NY. They met with some of the patients there and even sang Christmas carols to lift their spirits during the holidays. Senior Aaron Essien (pictured right-center, next to Fr. Liam) reflects on his visit to Brookside Multicare and how important it is to spread love and cheer to those who need it:

"The opportunity to go caroling at with those at Holy Trinity was an opportunity I know I couldn't pass up. Through personal experience, I am familiar with what it is like being in the hospital during the holiday season. During my lifetime, I've had family members who unfortunately were forced to spend their holidays in a hospital bed, not surrounded by those who deeply love them and care about them constantly, and often, being in that position is sad. Day to day, there may not be something to always look forward to, which is why I felt obligated to join my classmates in attendance at the hospital.

Upon arrival, you could already feel the excitement on their faces as we took out our instruments and handed out sheets of paper with lyrics on them for those who were able to follow. If that wasn't already an experience, when we began singing, the ones  who were familiar with the songs even sang along or gave their approval of how much they appreciated and liked the songs. Now I know that I don't have the best voice, but at that moment, I felt compelled to sing along with everyone simply because of the smile it brought to their faces. Later on, we went room to room singing songs for those who weren't able to leave their hospital beds; an even more unforgettable experience. I recall an adorable little girl, Mikayla, who joined us going room to room singing along with us. Later on, a patient even showed us a 5-minute song that he composed on the piano, which he taught himself to play.

The overall experience that evening was unmatched; I left the hospital with a type of warmth in my heart that is hard to find. I am thankful for the experience that I had that day, and would do it again in a heartbeat."
  
- Aaron Essien, Class of 2020