AMH2020
“A tree
is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who
sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”- Saint
Basil.
For my service project I chose to do the box to Afghanistan because I
believe although I may not be making a physical impact, the impact will be much
more significant.
My family doesn’t really celebrate any holidays because we
can’t afford to or my mom is always working, we just spend money on what we
need, that’s why I didn’t participate in the veteran’s village. I have a lot of
respect for veterans, but I feel like mailing supplies to soldiers who are away
from home, would serve a much greater purpose in accordance to my beliefs, values
and what I can afford. Having worked with people who had served in the military
also influenced why I chose to do this project instead of the others. I enjoy
making a change wherever I can, I use to volunteer all the time when I was in
high school.
My major is environmental studies, this project can relate to my
major because I’m contributing to my community by partaking in this assignment
just as I would in my career without expecting much in return. Just like this
project where I did not physically have to be present to change someone’s life,
as an environmentalist I will be improving people’s lives indirectly by
contributing to nature and Earth’s wellbeing. This project can affect a
community because it can bring awareness about our uniformed heroes and how we
should be more grateful to them. It shows people how important it is to be
active in your community in any way possible. Most people do not have the
slightest idea of the sacrifice and conditions our troops undergo day to day,
and how a simple action can change someone’s life.
Coming from an area where
most people are below middle class, I can imagine among those people are single
mothers that have their children enrolled in the forces and can’t provide much
aid to them, or those who don’t have families- the least we could do is send
them food or toiletries as a form of our gratitude and show them that someone
appreciates them. I chose to put more food than supplies in my box because in
psychology I learned about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs shows, to move up the pyramid, you must first meet the basic needs, such
as food and water. I figured because of this, that they would appreciate more food
than toiletries or office supplies.
I used some of the snacks my mom sent me
from Miami and went to Walmart to purchase more things like Doritos, beef
jerky, Cheez-its, Nutella, trail mixes, college ruled paper, pens, tooth brushes,
tooth paste and several other things. I do not work, and my mom can’t maintain
me that’s why I couldn’t stuff my box with as much things as I would’ve liked
too. Along with everything I gathered to put in the box, I added a personalized
card. My intention was to make whoever received my box smile and allow them to
forget all their hardships for at least a second. I’ve done a lot of research
on a couple of the military branches because I wanted to join for a long time;
this has allowed me to understand them a little more than I did in the past,
although I will never truly understand unless I were in their shoes. No benefit
in the world is worth enough to put your life and mental health at risk every
day and our troops do it anyway and proudly serve our country. If I was serving
in the military I know I would like to be shown some sort of appreciation, I’m
sure anyone would. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Family can
only do so much, but if there are people from all different walks of life
showing love, I would feel even more proud to serve my country.
At first, I
didn’t think too much of this project, but while I went shopping for the stuff,
my perspective on the entire assignment changed. Sometimes you get lost in your
own problems and routines, that we forget that there are people out there that
are worse than you.
