We are all guilty of taking things for granted and of not being appreciative of what we do have at times. I think it’s just human nature to get wrapped up in minor inconveniences that make us lose sight of the big picture.
We get caught up in what’s missing, what’s next, and what everyone else seems to have that we don’t. Somewhere along the way, we forget to stop and notice that the life we’re living right now is one some people would give anything for.
Alex, who goes by @alexroeds on TikTok, has a unique way of reminding himself to be grateful for what he has while not taking anything for granted, and it has everything to do with the building right next door to him.
“It’s 1 in the morning, and I live next to a children’s hospital, and whenever I don’t feel like enough, I come out here, and I look in the rooms that still have lights on,” Alex explained in his video.
“And I think about the kid lying awake in that hospital bed. The kid who didn’t ask to be sick, the kid who didn’t ask to be hooked up to machines and awake this late at night.”
“And I know because I was that kid once, lying in that hospital bed and not knowing what to do with my life. Not knowing what was going to happen. Being scared, lying awake.”
Alex says those kids in the hospital didn’t ask to be there, so the least he can do is choose to show up for those kids who don’t have the same opportunities he does.
Whenever Alex is feeling bad about himself, you can find him looking into those windows as the wake-up call he needs. Alex is also in his second year of studying to be a doctor, and he says he’s doing everything in his power to be the person who one day helps those kids go home healthy and happy.
“Suddenly our problems seem so little when you see from this POV,” one person commented on Alex’s video.
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“My son was that kid. Diagnosed with leukemia at age 4. He’s now 15 and healthy. That put everything in perspective for me. Trust me, you will change lives and people will remember you forever,” another person added.
“As someone in a children’s hospital bed, frequently, especially as one of the older ones (17), I’m sobbing. I never thought someone could use what burdens me to be so empathetic & disciplined. You worded this beautifully & I do not know what kind of medicine you are studying, but PLEASE deeply consider pediatrics because THIS level of compassion is so rare to find in a peds setting!” someone else exclaimed.
By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
