I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou) Earlier this semester I had the privilege of being a part of one of the most amazing projects of my life. Truthfully when I first heard news of a service project I was not excited nor was I interested. Usually service projects involve picking up trash or some other obscene activity nobody wants to do. Once the list of choices was given. I wanted to do EVERYTHING. Instead, I chose one that was dear to my heart, feeding the veterans. I chose this specific one for a number of reasons. First, I enjoy the idea of giving purely and wholeheartedly. Nothing does more for my moral compass than giving to others. Secondly, I have huge passion for cooking. Cooking is the only hobby that has stuck with me. For the dinner I prepared mashed potatoes, which happens to be my favorite food item. I love having the opportunity to share my cooking skills with others. When I first arrived I suddenly thought I was lost, and felt weirdly and insanely unsafe. Then I was greeted by a group of men, who were very helpful. The feeling of discomfort immediately left when I was welcomed by the warm embrace of all the veterans. Eventually I found my lovely classmates and professor. Once we were able to serve the veterans, the real fun began. Each one of them had a different personality but they were all extremely grateful. Not only did I feel appreciated, I felt proud to be a part of such a joyous occasion. I also enjoyed the opportunity to bond with a handful of my classmates. We were in such close proximity that we had to talk to each other. It was amazing simply because in a class of 70+ students, I had never met any of them. For me I was at a bad place in life, so to be surrounded by all of the joyfulness I was happy. To my surprise there was no food left at the end of the dinner. The veterans were so helpful and grateful. I felt as if I were in a room with long distance aunts and uncles. As I mentioned earlier my reasoning for participating in this particular project was because of love for helping others and my loving for cooking for others. The impact it had on my educational wisdom path was heavy. It made see things different. It opened my eyes to the fact that people are actually grateful when you complete a kind act for them. It also made realize that I can make a difference in someone’s life. I can bring joy with what I love to do. The impact I think it had on the community of veterans is amazing. I think that the veterans may be surprised to see a group of fairly young individuals throughout the semester. I know for sure that they are appreciative. Some of the veterans may be lonely or not come out of their rooms. Luckily they joined us for this joyous occasion. I also believe it had a heavy impact on my classmates. We got to see that this definitely isn’t just a grade. The experience is really what we should have all taken away from it. As the night ended and went to my car, I only wanted to go back. I wanted to participate in more dinners. It was like I wanted to start that entire hour over. The time there definitely was not long enough. This service project has surely been the most memorable experience for this semester. I will surely carry this with me for the rest of my life.
