Sonpreet (Sonia) Aulakh is one of 21 LLB1 students who won the chance to see her induction work published on Lawbore (she also got an Amazon voucher, just in case this privilege wasn’t enough!). This was part of the #exploringthelaw project – students tracked down 4 buildings of legal significance on a trail around London, researched the locations and then penned a blog post on something they were inspired by.

As I walked the streets of London discovering these buildings I had never seen before I was looking for something that would truly catch my eye and enable some sort of passion within that would allow me to pour myself into writing something that had meaning. This is exactly how I felt when I visited the Museum of the Order of St. John.

I wasn’t quite sure on what to expect, but when I realized the significance behind this building after speaking to one of their employees I knew exactly what vision I wanted to bring to life. As someone who was born and raised in Canada, the St. John Ambulance is very much a part of our country, just as much as it is in the United Kingdom and other countries across the world. I was fascinated to learn the history on how St. John ambulance came about, as I am profoundly passionate about the health, well-being and the quality of life of all humans, which is what this establishment is all about. What really made me find this museum so beautiful was that it not only generated this commitment to care for others, which was founded centuries ago, but slowly this evolution was taken all over the world.

Health and well-being is often taken for granted because most, especially young people, usually do not have to deal with such obstacles in their life. There are always exceptions, but most of us have the ability to do simple things like walk, see, talk, or eat with ease, but we fail to recognise we are blessed to be able to be as healthy as we are, because many people in this world do not have the same advantages. I learned this quite early on when my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease I had never heard of before because it did not affect me or the loved ones around me. I saw my mother go from being a strong, independent woman to having difficulty doing daily activities such as walking, cooking, driving and so on. It took many years for me to come to terms with the fact my mother had to be diagnosed with this disease that altered her life in so many ways, but it definitely taught me a lot I probably would not have learnt so early on.

As young people, we often neglect our own health because our quality of life is quite great. The world is our oyster – that 18+ student oyster card can literally take us anywhere! Sorry, but I’m from Vancouver where we have three simple train lines, so you could imagine my first experience using the tube knowing I could go almost anywhere in the UK!

Anyways as I was saying, we have the freedom to do whatever we want, but we need to be more aware that this is not the case for everyone around us, and one day could happen to us. It should not take no longer being able to walk to appreciate the health we have. We need to take care of our bodies now and also help those who may not have the same freedom. We can be as educated as we want, but one thing we really need to learn in the real world is compassion. This is why I felt the story and history of the Museum of the Order of St. John was truly magnificent. In the eleventh century a movement was created which still carries on today.

At the end of the day no matter who we are or where we are from, all of us need to be healthy and sometimes taken care of when that is not the case. The St. John crusade has provided just that for centuries and many centuries to come. We all have our different paths in life, but if we can all can care for one another the possibilities for a better future are endless. Even as I took the photograph featured at the top of this piece, I was attempting to take the perfect picture with no one getting in the way. With it being such a busy area, I was not able to, but when I looked back at this photo I realized that is the beauty of this picture. We are all different. We are all headed in different directions. We are all rushing to get somewhere. These are the facts of life, but we are all connected in some way as well.

Just like this order to provide care to people all over the world, we are also connected solely on the fact we all deserve and want good quality of life, health, and well-being. If we are able to help those who need it we should, because one day your life could completely change and you could be wishing there were more understanding, caring and compassionate people out there. Although my mother may not be as healthy as she was years ago, I have recognized she is still a strong and independent woman for pushing through and facing these obstacles head on. If anything people like her are stronger than people like me will ever be. Thanks to such movements we are able to have hope and faith in anything that may come our way.