Bravery – David Koestler

The Move

The left image is a photo of my old house in Chappaqua and the right image is a photo of my new house in Moosic Pennsylvania

My whole life, I lived in Chappaqua, NY 10514. As a child, I remember playing outside in the backyard with my sister, making leaf piles in the fall. In the winter, we sled down my driveway until I got frostbite. In the spring and summer, we walked through the woods to get to our pool club called Twin Oaks.

As I went from elementary to middle school, I remember the big change in waking up to catch the school bus. I remember waking up at 6:30 a.m. and trenching up the long driveway to make the bus. I remember being excited to come home to retrieve the mail and see our nanny. I remember our house being filled with family and friends during the holidays. I remember a lot! Lots of memories!

The transition from middle to high school was even better; I soon learned to drive. I joined the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps as a junior and soon became a fully-fledged member of the Corps and an EMT. I loved giving back to my community since I knew I was making a direct impact on someone’s life when they might be having the worst day of their lives. Unfortunately, this bubble I lived in soon became disrupted at the end of my sophomore year of college. While I am thankful that we didn’t move when I was in K-12, this change still affected me.

I never liked change. Yes, there are times in my life when change was exciting, like when I went from high school to college, which gave me a fresh start where I could make new friends and challenge myself. On the other hand, change was not fun, whether it was small or big, like leaving home to go to sleepaway camp. Sometimes, change is temporary, and other times it is permanent. This change was permanent. My mom had a fantastic new job opportunity in Scranton, PA. While I was happy for her, this meant moving from my childhood home to a new home. This new home may not have all the memories embedded in the halls, but I am sure I will make new ones. The most important thing is that my family is happy.

Life of an EMT

This is an image of me applying a device called a tourniquet which stops hemorrhaging.

I joined Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CVAC) because I wanted to feel that I was making a direct impact on individual lives when they might be in their worst moments. After becoming a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), I began riding as a trainee, where a supervisor trained me in patient communication, documentation, and more. I found it particularly challenging to communicate and calm the patient down when I also had to document the incident. Additionally, in the town of Chappaqua, hospitals were within 15 minutes or less of driving distance, which limited my time for documentation. I approached these challenges with the mindset that patient care comes first. I knew that documentation was important, but I chose which aspects were most important to write down at the moment, such as the patient story, symptoms, and vital signs. Later, I could put these pieces together. Finally, I learned that a sense of humor was a vital skill in the field.

Trainee to Crew Chief

I soon graduated as a trainee and became a crew chief. Being a crew chief meant that I was in charge of communicating to the hospital what type of patient I was bringing in and several other aspects that required leadership and the ability to designate roles. This change was difficult, especially during COVID-19. I had to become more aware of the complex protocols to inform my decisions about patient care and hospital procedures. Additionally, it was scary because I didn’t want to bring home any germs with me. However, it was also rewarding because I knew my Nana and Papa would be proud of my devotion to helping others, as they passed away (one of them due to COVID). Despite losing them, I am proud that my work in the field positively impacts several people.

Takeaways

As an EMT, I have gained several skills, from keeping my composure to building leadership and enhancing my communication skills. I believe these skills have helped me outside of healthcare, such as group projects for class. In the future, I hope to continue upholding the certification and riding in my free time because of the meaningful interactions I get to experience.

Mindfulness

This image is a set of goals for living a healthy lifestyle including having daily spiritual practice, going to the gym, meditation, getting out in nature, giving back to my community, and having a healthy sleep cycle.

Previous Thoughts of Mindfulness

I never thought I would spend time doing mindfulness during my day. I always thought mindfulness was a joke and a waste of time. I thought that the concept of mindfulness was silly; however, I recently engaged in mindful practices and even enrolled in a mindfulness course at Wesleyan University. This change in mindset was largely due to the fact that I have been struggling with chronic pain in my neck and back. While I have cycled through several different treatment options, they have not been helpful. I attended several seminars to help inform me of different treatment methods, and I came across mindfulness/meditation.

Transformative Thoughts of Mindfulness

I decided I would finally give it a try because I had become so stuck and run by pain in my life that I needed to change courses. So, I began waking up at around 5:00 am and listening to a guided meditation I found on YouTube. Some days, I would listen to a meditation on love and kindness; other days, I would listen to a guided meditation on being present. I realized that during the practice, my pain sometimes persisted, but after meditation was done, I felt pain relief that lasted a few hours. I also found that putting this time in my calendar actively got me to participate in this practice and lifestyle. Without making time for this practice, I found myself going on my phone and making excuses as to why I would avoid meditation. When I did make time for practice, I truly disengaged from the technological world and was able to appreciate my body and those around me further because I was grounded and more connected to the present.

Recent Thoughts of Mindfulness

As I began my mindfulness class in the Fall of 2023, I learned different methods of mindfulness and soon joined a club that did yoga every Tuesday. I found yoga to have a similar effect as meditation did. However, I found that I was challenged more in yoga than meditation, where I was still. This challenge was a blessing and a curse. During yoga, sometimes my pain would increase; however, I found the same effect as meditation, with my pain subsiding after the practice. The mindfulness class taught me that while I didn’t always enjoy yoga, I was being mindful by recognizing my comfort and physical sensations. Later in the course, I began journaling my thoughts and my days. I found that recognizing these thoughts gave me comfort because rather than ignoring my pain, I was able to transfer my emotional discomfort into positivity. I won’t say that journaling, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness completely diminish my pain, but these practices help me become more aware of myself and help me engage in healthy practices that will help me develop a great lifestyle. For example, rather than walking across campus listening to music, I walk without music and notice my surroundings (e.g., people, nature, and noises) and connect more to the present world.

Mt. Monadnock

The Spring 2023 semester was winding down, and it was a few weeks before finals. I decided to join the Outdoors Club on a trip to New Hampshire to camp and climb Mount Monadnock. My participation in this club increased during my sophomore year because I wanted to meet new people and challenge myself. I hadn’t done many challenging hikes before; however, I was involved in Boy Scouts, which gave me some experience, unlike some other people on the trip.

The Bottom

It was 6:00 a.m. when one of the club members started playing the song Waking Up Easy. I was not a morning person, and waking up was not easy at all! It was very cold that morning, but I was much happier with cold weather than it being hot. We eventually drove to the start of the trail, and I had my backpack on my shoulders, ready to trek the trail. I started off leading the group up the trail but soon fell behind as the air became thinner and the rocks became steeper. While I wish we had taken more frequent breaks, I persevered onward and put out a strong attitude. I kept wondering how the hike down would be and if it would be more complex than the hike up. I reminded myself constantly to stay engaged in the hike and embrace my surroundings because of the rareness that I would get this experience again. I believe this focus on “being present” helped me persevere through the hike.

The Top

I climbed one more steep rock and saw the world ahead of me! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The blue skies and little creeks that were in front of me. I could not get this if I stayed at Wesleyan. My peers and I cheered, and I took my Polaroid camera out of my backpack that I trekked all the way up the mountain, and captured the amazing views of my accomplishment.