AMH2020 student
“Successful people are always looking for
opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in
it for me?’. – Brian Tracy. I chose this quote because it really spoke to me
when I initially read it. I believe I am a successful person, maybe not
successful money wise just yet, but successful in the way of always wanting to
help others. Anytime I see someone struggling I immediately try and think about
what I could do to help them out. Some people do not like receiving help from
others, I admit, I am one of those people. Anytime anyone tries to offer me
help I turn it down because I enjoy being independent too much. Not allowing someone
to help you is a mistake, things usually turn out better when more minds are
put together.
For my service project, I chose to volunteer at
Veteran’s
Village because in my opinion it is important to give back to the ones that
live within your community. I remember when I was trying to find the building
that veterans village is hosted in, I got lost! I remember calling a friend who
served a few weeks before me and asking where is this place!? Luckily, I found
the building. When I first pulled up, I am not going to lie, but I was the only
one there and I was pretty intimidated. I was not even sure I was at the right
place. I have been told my entire life that I should never be alone in
unfamiliar places because I am a ‘young lady’. I told myself that I just needed
to mind my own business and just climb the stairs and find the right room! I
ended up climbing too many flights of stairs and an African American man in the
building parallel waved at me and told me “Hey, you went up too many levels, go
down one level! It’s on your right!” I
was so thankful someone saw me wandering around aimlessly and guided me where I
needed to be. I then knew that I was at the right place and the people I was
about to serve were going to be nice, down to earth people. I brought fruit
bags to veteran’s village to hand out with dinner. I really do believe they
appreciated the fruit because it added a little sweetness in their lives. I was
working alongside other college students who decided they wanted to experience
the same thing I did, helping others. Dr. Soldani did not lie that it gets very
busy all at one time and you have to scoop, pour, and pass all within like 30
seconds. Okay, okay, it was not that bad but, it did get pretty busy. My classmates
and I had a lot of fun serving these lovely people and hearing quick glimpses of
how their days went. I really do pray that I impacted someone’s day in a
positive way. Maybe I did this by being cheerful and smiley while serving them
their dinner or just by giving them a bag of fruit that they potentially loved.
I am definitely a person who is always happy and smiling, so I hope that energy
I had rubbed someone the right way and put a pinch of sunshine in their life. One
of my main core values is being happy and positive no matter what. This
particular service project really did allow for me to have the ability to
brighten someone’s day. Just having the ability to make someone smile or impact
in their day in a positive way is priceless. With that said, you do not want to
feel sympathy for the men and women that come through the veteran’s village
doors but, rather you try and be empathetic. Attempt to put yourself in their
shoes so you can try and relate to something they are going through. If you
respond too sympathetically to a someone, for example the men and women that
came to dinner that night, you are only hurting them more because too much
sympathy will stunt that individual’s growth out of the bad times that have
occurred in their life.
Volunteering
is something that everyone should try and do in their lifetime because it makes
you feel good when you help others. Your life feels so much fuller when you can
share yourself with other people who may be less fortunate. Like the quote
says, to be successful in life you must help others. Success is not ultimately
determined by how much money you make but by the opportunities you take as
well. If you base your life mainly on pleasing yourself, you may feel like you
are content but, in reality, you will never experience the feeling of what it
feels like to give. You cannot just serve yourself, you must “help others to
grow up and you grow with them.” After completing this service project, it made
me feel like I was more a part of the Tallahassee community. I felt more
connected and it felt good to know I helped feed men and women who potentially
only had this one meal a day. I definitely look forward to completing more
service projects in Tallahassee and serving many others throughout my lifetime.
