(Student Essay Fall 2015)
Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.
― Martin Luther King Jr
This semester we were tasked to reach down in our hearts and explore the many different ways to show care to another human being who no longer receives such hospitality. For my service project, I wanted show these people that there are those out in the world who still care for them; I bought a $10 gift card to McDonalds for someone without enough money to eat. At first glance, my item of gratitude may not seem like the greatest act of generosity, but I look back at my actions and wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Here I am, a freshman in college with low funds and a lower number of friends, doing whatever I can to avoid the “freshmen 15,” and going about my days studying and horsing around while there are people older than I who have gone through the same process, yet stand (some sitting) now with little to no money, little to no friends and little to no activities to participate in. I wonder why it took 19 years for someone such as my teacher to educate me about the hardships these people face. For someone to wake me up and do something about it. While I know a $10 gift card won’t solve his or her problems, it’s heart-warming to know my classmates took action as well. I like to think of my great act of service as contributing to the many gifts that these people will soon receive. They go to show that while the future may seem bleak, there are always people out there seeking to better this world such as Dr. Soldani and the students she teaches.
Doing such an act didn’t make me feel like a hero, nor a servicemen, but it helped me realize that little acts of kindness do add up. Knowing the elderly from the Veterans Village will receive hundreds of dollars worth of items, along with the excursions taken during the semester to feed and pay a visit to, will soon be in the hands of these people makes me feel good about myself and the hope that more people will follow our actions.
My first semester of college was unlike any experience I had previously known for the betterment of my education. What with throwing all-nighters to finish work, rallying to find the sweetest deal of the night and celebrating with strangers at a tailgate, I look forward to continue scaling the mountain of education, and doing what I can to show kindness to all of those I meet along the way.
