When I was first considering volunteering at UCSF, I didn’t envision myself deriving such joy from it. Like many people, hospitals didn’t connote positive feelings for me. I spent most of my summer before fifth grade visiting my grandpa in a hospital after he suffered from a stroke. It wasn’t the most ideal environment for my family and me to spend our last moments together with him. I was hoping that being in the position of a volunteer would offer me a fresher, more comforting perspective of the hospital, but my unpleasant hospital memories still lingered with me leading up to my orientation.

Now, looking back on my time as a volunteer, I can’t remember a time I didn’t leave my shift without a smile on my face or an eagerness to share snippets of my day with my mom in the car ride home. Because as I soon discovered, in spite of all the pain and frustration, and the uncertainty and anxiety that patients experience, a courageous amount of optimism radiates throughout UCSF—a lot of which arises from volunteer services.

In school I’ve learned the Jesuit term cura personalis, which effectively sums up what volunteers offer patients and visitors: “care for the whole person.” Volunteers extend the UCSF principle of caring beyond just physical care to make patients’ stays a little more enjoyable. I only volunteered for eight days this summer, but I experienced the effects of this care firsthand. I’ve been thanked countless times for volunteering and been told how much the volunteer service amenities have meant to people. I’ve seen faces light up when offered a cup of coffee or delivered a bingo prize. In these moments, I realize how one small act of love can go so far in brightening someone’s day. I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity to do this with my small tasks as a volunteer.

As a generally shy person I didn’t expect for myself to be too engaged with my volunteering. I figured I wouldn’t be doing much socializing beyond the standard protocol. I remember on my first day of volunteering being nervous to even knock on a patient’s door to offer a newspaper. But little by little I saw not only that I had nothing to worry about, but that when I did open myself up to patients who were eager for some company, I had so much to gain. As the weeks progressed I looked forward to any chance I had to interact with patients—whether that be in newspaper deliveries, brew crew, or item deliveries—because these moments were where volunteering came to life. I witnessed some remarkably resilient, optimistic people in my interactions this summer: the woman who asked us to help her make her son’s visit later that day extra special by framing a photo of the two of them; the woman who was elated to see us bring her colored pencils so that her drawings would have a wider color spectrum; the woman who was temporarily mute but was persistent in telling me about the time she won$3000 during bingo and was excited to see if the odds would be in her favor for our bingo game; and the woman visiting her grandson who assured us that she didn’t know much English (but was learning) and yet didn’t let that stop her from speaking with us in Spanish, telling the brew crew how beautiful we were and how grateful she was. I could go on and on recounting how many patients and guests like these astonished me with their unbounded gratitude and optimism. They didn’t let the fact that they were in the hospital stop them from keeping positive spirits.

Seeing how courageous and kind these people were in spite of their circumstances inspired me to take more risks and make the most of my time as a volunteer. The people I’ve encountered in the past few weeks have brought out the bestin me. In few other settings have I mustered up enough courage to wear a Fourth of July headband alone as I walked through the halls on my shift, attempt to use Spanish I’ve learned in school to communicate with native speakers, or simply spend more time conversing with a stranger. In all of these instances, though, as soon as I saw the smiles I brought to people’s faces I was glad to have tried something surprising.