Here's to the Times We've Felt Alive --- In high school, I have had many experiences with feeling alive during volunteering such as when I delivered homemade cookies and Christmas cards to police officers working the night of Christmas Eve, volunteering at the hospital, and coaching cheerleading at the catholic school that I used to go to. I have participated in a lot of different service experiences this semester especially with my community service sorority. However, I have enjoyed volunteering at the Montgomery County Christmas store, participating in my sorority’s #Iammore campaign, and throwing a Halloween party for the nursing home the most. I find that I feel the best during service projects that I find fun or that are in my interests and passions.
I was truly introduced to community service during my time in high school as a part of the Health Sciences Academy but my parents both work in careers that truly give back to the community. My dad is a police officer so I am quite fond of the police community and I know a lot of the people that my dad works with. I have grown up knowing this community and I know how difficult it can be on families to have family members work on holidays especially the night shift since my mom works nights at the hospital. One year, my dad suggested that we make Christmas cards and cookies for some of his coworkers that were working on Christmas Eve. At first, I didn’t really think too much about it and just did it because he told me too. Additionally, it was a bonding experience for my little sister so I didn’t mind doing this for fun. To my surprise, I was really moved by the reaction that we received when we gave them the cookies and Christmas cards that we made ourselves. These officers sacrifice so much every day by putting their lives on the line to protect us and must be away from their families on the night of Christmas Eve and can’t come home until the next morning. I didn’t realize this until we participated in this volunteering. The next day that my dad went to work, his coworkers spoke about how grateful they were that we did that for them. The officers even thanked us the next time that we saw them during a social gathering. I could see the impact that I made in these officers’ lives from just doing something so small when they sacrifice so much. The alive emotion during this service would be doing something good for a community that I feel such a tie to and directly seeing that impact and knowing that I am doing this service in honor of my dad (a person that I admire and look up to). Ever since then we have delivered treats and cards to the officers at his precinct every year right after we attend Christmas Eve mass. During my freshman year of high school, my dad was also the basketball coordinator at the catholic school that I went to so he knew a lot about the athletics department and was aware that the cheerleading program needed a new coach for their elementary school team. Since I had cheered at this school before, he asked me if I would like to offer up my time until they find a new coach. I thought that this would be a good way to get my community service hours over with for my community service requirement in the health sciences academy so I said that I would coach. This service opportunity was something that I put a lot of effort and the most time in. I was at the gymnasium pretty much the entire weekend and it was an interesting experience to have to run an entire team at such a young age. As a freshman in high school, I was planning a cheer showcase for the entire area of Tidewater and I was communicating with the parents of the cheerleaders about all the information that they needed to know. I really like kids so I enjoyed bonding with them and the parents were appreciative of me. This was a big part of my life and I developed bonds with the other coaches and a lot of the parents that helped me out. I learned a lot about myself during this volunteer experience such as that I like working with children and how to teach such a large group since I had to instruct them on dances, stunts, and cheers. This was a lot of fun and I miss this volunteer experience. Again, this made me feel alive because this affected a community that I loved and I could really see the positive impact that I was making in their lives. Still to this day, the girls that I used to coach run up to hug me and tell me how much they miss me. I participated in this volunteer experience for three years. During my junior and senior year of high school, I transtioned to a different service opportunity that took a lot of my time. In my health sciences academy, there was a medical service hours requirement that we had to fullfill in order to complete graduation requirements. Most of the people chose to volunteer during various medical awareness walks and at the hospital and I did both as well. I volunteered at the same hospital that my mom works at as a registered nurse. During my time as a volunteer, I participated in setting up and volunteering by directing traffic at the hospital’s 50th anniversary celebration. I also regularly filled up supply cabinets, answered the phones, transferred calls, and paged nurses while helping them get things to patients such as food or water. I found this a time that I felt alive because I am considering a career in healthcare and I got to see what every day in a hospital would look like from the inside. I also found it interesting to see how nurses like my mom work and what exactly they do for the patients. I felt alive because I knew that what I was doing was of true siginificance and it felt great to know that I was in a small part helping to save people’s lives which is something that I want to do in the future. I’ve only been in college for a semester but I have already experienced Virginia Tech’s motto of UT Prosim within others I have volunteered with and myself. I really enjoyed volunteering with some of the ladies in the SERVE living learning community at the Montgomery Christmas store during the month of November. Our particular task for the day was taking two children’s shirts of the same size and pairing them together then tieing them with ribbon. I was tasked with cutting the ribbon while the other girls created the pairings and the rest tied the clothes together. I felt alive during this service because I love Christmas and they played Christmas carols while we worked and the elderly woman that runs the Montgomery Christmas Store was so kind and passionate about her work. I also felt drawn to the particular cause of helping the need of the community. It was amazing to see the work that gets done in such a short amount of time and I’m so excited to return to the Montgomery Christmas store to see the Christmas store in full action! My community service sorority called Omega Phi Alpha is filled with a great group of girls who share such a strong passsion of giving back. I find that it is best to do community service around people that you know or really connect with which is what this sorority has provided me with. I especially felt alive during our campaign on the drillfield called #Iammore which people write on a canvas of what they are more than. For example, people put that they were more than the color of their skin or more than just a pretty face or even more than their sorority and community service exam. I wrote that I am more than my social anxiety and depression. I felt alive by being really passionate about the reason we were doing this which was trying to raise awareness about mental health and to promote self confidence knowing that a lot of people struggle with the same issues. I love raising awareness for mental health especially since I struggle with mental health issues. I also found out reaching out to other students on campus was really empowering for me because it helped me to get out of my shell a little bit. We also threw a Halloween party for residents at a local nursing home and dressed up in costumes and played bingo with them while we served their favorite snacks of cheese puffs and soda. I really bonded with one of the ladies that I played bingo with and developed a real connection with her which made me miss my own grandma who I am super close with. I was surprised that this event made me feel alive because I never thought I’d be interested in working with the elderly. I found this an experience that made me feel alive because some of the residents were begging us to come back and were expressing how nobody usually vists them which evoked feelings of empathy knowing that I made these people’s days. They invited us to come back anytime that we wanted to. I got to bond with my sorority sister while again having fun so this made me volunteering that much more enjoyable. Overall, I think that community service makes me feel alive when I feel a connection to the service project, I understand exactly what the issue I am working on is, and I am volunteering with people that I love. I find that I have not liked all of the service projects that I have particpated in because I didn’t feel like the work that I was doing was beneficial or I didn’t feel a connection to the particular community or issue. For example, I am not much of an animal person so I did not feel that excited when I participated in a supply drive for the Humane Society. I hope to find more times I feel alive during service projects at my time here at Virginia Tech. I think that I will feel alive during my time at Relay for Life or 3.2 for 32 in the upcoming spring semester. |