You always hear the phrase “be aware of your surroundings” but it wasn’t until last week that I truly understood why you should always be aware of what is happening around you.

I am currently working at a nursing home as a recreational aid, I know seems like a ton of fun right? Well, most days consist of bingo, coloring, doing nails, playing cards and even sometimes checkers. It was a typical day at the nursing home until I realized that one of the residents was acting a little off. After contemplating whether or not to bring her to a nurses station or not and after my co-worker dismissed the issue at hand, I used my better judgment and brought her to a nurse. I was again dismissed by the nurse and insisted that they checked the resident out. It turned out that her blood sugar was incredibly low and she could have died if I did not notice the change in her behavior or insisted on her being looked at. Now I know what you’re probably thinking, oh no big deal right? Well this is where you’re wrong. This is a huge deal and taught me a very valuable lesson in life that I think everyone needs to learn.

It is very common for people to just ignore what is around them and not pay attention to how people behave. It is very common for people our age to just sit on their phone and ignore the people around us. Well, the reality is, if I was sitting on my phone and ignored the people around me, a women could have been dead.

It is always important to be aware and even if you don’t think you are technically responsible for the people around you, you are always in some way shape or form responsible for them. If something were to go wrong, you are an eye witness of what happened, and you are partially responsible if whatever happened could have been stopped. Let that sit in, I know it is a scary thought. It is important for everyone to realize the dangers of sitting on your phone and ignoring your surroundings because within a blink of an eye something around you could happen that you could have prevented but instead you were too busy checking snapchat or instagram for the 50th time that hour. So next time you are walking around, put down your phone, live in the moment and be aware of your surroundings because you never know when you may save someone's life.