People have various reasons for not "getting involved" or not volunteering. I have school, work and other "adult" responsibilites that could have made me one of those people.We all have different priorities; most of my friends tell me that they have a life. Well i have one too; the difference is I care about what is going on in my society while all they care about is their social life. One day they will look back and ask themselves if they made a difference. I will look back and know I did.
Reading the chapter of One Step at a Time made me a little upset. It talked about people who began doing community service since they were in elementary school and how now in their twenties they are making a huge difference in their communitites. It made me wish I had started earlier but as I kept reading the chapter Loeb clarified that it didn't matter at what age you started making a difference; the point is that you made one. I feel like now that I'm part of SLICE I am making a difference and I am starting to view aspects of my life differently.
I just turned 22 and I feel like I'm barely starting to crawl in the volunteering world but I know that soon enough I will take my huge first step. I do believe that with my personality and my passion for caring for people I will succeed. I know now, by reading Loeb's book, that it's ok to feel unprepared. You just have to expand yourself from your boundries to find out what kind of person you can be. "Step out on nothing, hoping to land on something". We have to put ourselves out there even if we are afraid of failing, failure is just another stumble on are way to the top.
I started to feel the same way, like I wasted time doing the bare minimum. All those kids started so early with community service and service-learning projects. I totally agree though when you say when you look back 20 years from now, and ask your self if you made a difference, you will be able to say 'yes'. It is strange for me being so young and seeing everything I have accomplished so far and looking at my friends who seem 4 steps behind me. Then, I read Lao Tzu's quote "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step". It does not matter the age that you start; it is the fact that you started.
ReplyDeleteI really like your post! I also wish I had started community service earlier, and am thankful for this opportunity to get started with slice. I think the biggest wake up call to me in this chapter is the thought that you dont have to do things perfect; the most important thing is to just START. I also appriciate your goal of knowing you have made a difference throughout your life; I am truly inspired by that goal. Good luck with your community service!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that we can help you know that you have made a difference 20 years from now. Taking that first step is the most important thing to understand. Maybe you will be a role-modle for all your friends and they will see that they too can make a difference. You will succeed, they will be jealous, and then you can help them step into the volunteering world. In the end you will help more than just those you are working with.
ReplyDeleteI know you will go far Laly because you glow with your passion for others and it is noticable to everyone!
I know how you feel and I have been doing volunteer work for a while and sometimes I just wonder have I even done much of anything? Did the people I was helping even care? It took me a really long time to figure out that community service isn't just for the community it is for me too. It does not matter if the person or group you are helping cares, it matters that you did it.
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