By: Kaitlyn Nathem, Staff Writer

Excited. Nervous. Proud. As she walks through the doors hundreds of emotions jumble through her head. She sees the chairs and all the nurses as her heart begins to pound faster. Staring at the other students laying on the long, blue chairs, her palms begin to sweat. She gets greeted with a smile and takes her seat. Closing her eyes and clenching her teeth, the sharp object goes into her vein.

Jasmine Hogue, sophomore, donated her blood for the Mississippi River Regional blood drive for her first time at Marion High School. “I want to give blood to help someone else,” Jasmine smiled. Students all around MHS have been signing up to donate their blood for the past two weeks. This isn’t the first year that the blood drive has taken place, and Marion always has a great turnout.

“It’s nerve-wracking because I don’t know how good the doctors are. When I’ve gotten blood drawn before they stick it in and have to move the needle around trying to find my vein,” Jasmine stated. Jasmine was just one of many nervous students in the gym. Girls were crying, shaking, and psyching themselves out before they were even sitting in the chairs.

Every year at least one student usually faints or vomits. “No, [I didn’t faint], but I got really dizzy,” she said with wide eyes. The blood drive supplies the donors with pop, cookies, and other food to help deal with the dramatic blood loss. There was a small table with all the food where students could eat, talk, and drink while relaxing before returning back to class. “[My favorite part of donating blood was] the whole experience, and definitely the food and drinks,” Jasmine exclaimed.

A source of pressure exits her arm as the needle comes out. As she gets up, the room begins to spin a little. She sits down at the table and regains her full vision as she eats a tasty chocolate chip cookie. With a little pain, she just helped save a stranger’s life.