How I Learned to Love Community Service :: Essays on Volunteering

He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.- Confucius feel for has the gift of making the ordinary special.- George R. BachFiling. The word itself made me shudder. The hours dog-tired kneeling at the cabinet searching for folders, the monotony of sorting hundreds of paper into piles, and the sharp sting of pain as my finger hit the run into of a peer at the wrong angle it was tortuous on so many levels.It had only been 3 months since Id started volunteering at the hospital, and already I was sick of it. The copious amounts of paper cuts Id compiled, the long drab hours of staring at the clock, the days of filing, filing and more than filing this was community divine service? This was not helping anyone it was busywork. The more judgment of conviction I spent filing, the more my attitude became sullen and negative. Two weeks later, I was sent to work at the pediatric ward. Instead of the usual papers, I was handed a baby Gently, the nurse s aid that the baby was unbalanced and n ever so had any visitors in order to get better, he postulate to be held, and would I mind throwing him for a few hours? So it happened that I spent four hours rocking a newborn baby, scared that I would somehow accidently break him. In those hours of feeling the warmth of a ignored child, of looking into his innocent, pleading eyes, I realized that this was the essence of community service helping those who couldnt help themselves and giving time to those who truly ask it. The satisfaction and contentment that washed over me were worth every polished I had spent filing, every paper cut that I had ever received. My mind more open, I understood that even filing helped people, and as such, hadnt been a waste of time.Since that bout of epiphany years ago, my volunteering has expanded. I hold a weekly class at my church teaching children round the bible. This experience has transformed nearly every aspect of my life. Designing strata gem lessons has increased my creative sense something that Id sorely lacked before. My preparedness and organizational skills augmented due to the time management thats required. My launching and speaking skills have drastically improved from being an awkward, mumbling speaker, I have become more eloquent and confident.