It was Thursday afternoon when my friend, Teri, and I went to stop by the blood drive Kythe had prepared for those who wanted to donate blood to the Philippine Children's Medical Center patients at Gonzaga, Ateneo. Both of us were first timers in donating blood so we had signed up and filled up forms. When Teri got her blood pressure, she passed the required number and moved on to the platelet count station where the nurse was already waiting. But when I had my blood pressure checked, I did not pass the required number as my blood pressure was too low. I moved to Teri's station to watch the nurse getting her platelet count, only to find out that she didn't pass as well because her platelet count was too low. We asked the reasons behind these and they told us that I was too dehydrated while Teri was lacking sleep. That night, we both focused on staying hydrated and sleeping for 8 hours.
The next day was Friday, which meant it was already the last day of Kythe Week. I really wanted to be able to donate blood to the children who are in need, so I kept drinking water to stay hydrated. When I went to the blood drive again, I finally passed the required blood pressure and platelet count. I was then led to lie down on a bed. I started getting excited and nervous at the same time at that point because I have never experienced donating blood before.
At that point, I was feeling the kind of emotion I've been familiar with. It was happiness that I get from doing good. As I laid down on the bed and waited for the nurse to extract blood from me, I started thinking of all the children I've met in my life and all their faces I have painted smiles on, especially the ones I always keep coming back to in one of the orphanages in my province, Nueva Ecija. I have always loved children and helping them through teaching. I've never thought of donating blood until it was introduced to me now. I felt happy knowing that I could actually help lives by donating blood, not just by teaching.
I didn't realize I was grinning until the nurse suddenly spoke, "Mukhang masaya ka, ate ah." You seem happy. And I really was. I didn't realize I was smiling and I remembered that in Ekman's basic emotions, there is a thing we call 'display rule' in emotion expressions where it's indicated how emotions, such as happiness in my case, should be expressed. I wasn't hiding my happiness and so I'd let myself smile genuinely thinking about the children I want to meet who could be receiving my blood.
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