When you do something for your community, you give yourself a sense of pride in yourself. Being in Big Pals-Little Pals I have learned more than just leadership, responsibility, or accomplishment; I have gotten the chance to have someone that doesn't have much in life, look up to me. Responsibility is the ability to respond to a person that makes a demand on us (Messmore, p. 723). Being a role model to someone that is so much younger than I am gave me a feeling of pride. I became a Big-Pal because when I was growing up I didn't have a perfect childhood, and I know that the kids that are in this program are in it for a reason. If I can give back to just one person and make there childhood a little more memorable, a little more fun, and give them just a little more than what they were getting then that is all I needed to apply for the program. I am blessed to have been accepted to the program because I met an incredible seven year old that has changed my life probably more …show more content…
Over the year, I have become more of like a big sister for Jena, her being an only child. This week I decided to take Jena to my apartment to make bake. I have now learned that when having a young child help make desserts usually turns into a big mess. Later we decided to rent a few movies to watch. Of course being in second grade we had to get the Chipmunks and the Smurfs. As usual about half way through the second movie Jena was out, and that was my key that she was ready to go home. When I first signed up to be a Big-Pal I did not have a clue that Jena would have such a big impact on my life. But everyday I get to spend with her, even though, it is only one day a week, I have learned a lot about myself, and I have also been given the chance to meet Jena. I have been given the chance to find the pursuit of happiness and so has
In sources of strength, the members are chosen as someone who would be a person anyone could come up and talk with if they were having a bad day. Also, as seniors we have two seventh grade kids that we mentor. I do this because I remember how hard it was being a seventh grader and not really knowing much about high school. Once a week we sit down and talk with the children. I always love the stories they have to tell and I truly feel blessed when I can help with anything they are struggling with. Whether that be something in school or something at home, it is so fulfilling talking with them. This activity has taught me what it means to give back to a school and to these kids who need my help. I love service and I spend a lot of time trying to help others with problems. Sources of strength has let me do just that. I have learned what it means to be a leader. This is a large responsibility I do not take lightly. I know the actions I do will have an effect on others, so I try to make sure those effects are positive at all
She stands a staggering 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs a massive 95 pounds, and has short, brown hair and brown eyes. I see my older sister Leslie. Others see a model of perfection. Don't get me wrong, my sister and I are close and have been inseparable since birth. My mother has kept pictures of us ranging from the time we shared a playpen as babies to just recently at Leslie's graduation. For seventeen years, we've shared every life experience imaginable, and we've dealt with the trials and tribulations that come with growing up. But in September, she left home to attend the University of California at Irvine, leaving me to face life alone. However, it gave me the opportunity to live life by myself as Ryan, instead of Leslie's little brother.
Later that year, I was accepted into Spanish Honors Society, a volunteer based program to help out the Spanish communities near my school along with volunteering to help raise money for organizations that help less developed countries. One particular project that I helped raise money for through Spanish Honors Society, was Project Running Waters. The money raised for this event was donated to help people living in Guatemala receive fresh water through pipe systems that would be built. We raised over one thousand dollars to donate to this cause. Knowing that I can positively impact individuals in my community and in other countries makes me feel like I have grown maturely and am able to understand what needs to be done to make a difference to
The most meaningful and challenging experiences in my life have been through sports and the 4-H club. They have instilled the values of perseverance, confidence, and teamwork within me. I feel that my peers and others could learn valuable life lessons through participating in these organizations. They are not just clubs, but a guiding light for life. For example in sports I have had the opportunity to play on both losing and winning teams. This has given me a different perspective of looking at things. I now realize that even if you fail or lose that is no reason to give up, you still have to get right back up. Just realize your mistakes and errors. Then come back the next time, mentally and physically, ready to meet the challenge. To often in life youth and adults alike fail at something and automatically think that they cannot do it, and give up. Instead of just pushing themselves to run another lap, lift another set, study for another hour, or learn another theorem. Imagine a world if the early American settlers had given in to the British, if the North had given in to the South after the first loss of the civil war, or if Michael Jordan had given up after being cut from the team in high school. People just need to learn to have perseverance and believe in themselves. 4-H has been a series of stepping-stones for me. When I first started out at age four I was shy and afraid to do things that I had not done before, but now I have blossomed into a confident and outgoing young man. I no longer fear getting up in front of large groups and speaking because of the experiences I've had in public speaking events. In addition, 4-H has given me the chance to develop myself as a leader. Over the years I have held various leadership positions on the club, county, and district levels. Also, 4-H has given me the chance to go into the community and help people by leading youth in workshops, assisting the handicap and elderly, and also learn from what others have to teach. In both of these organizations I learned the need for teamwork. For example last year my football team went 0-11 and the main reason because of that was we were not a team.
In this effort, I serve the community by making an effort to keep the people in it healthier. Lastly, I show service to my school through the help I provided while in the National Junior Honor Society. As a member of NJHS I helped our middle school begin a recycling program; I helped get the recycling boxes and bins ready, gather paper from around the school, and sort the paper after school. Through this I show a dedication to my school and community, because not only does recycling help the school reduce waste but it also allows the environment resources to last longer. For these reasons, I am an excellent, determined, helpful member, who is more than willing to provide service to my school and community.
Over the years I have been very involved in my community and school. Being a part of something helps to define who you are as a person and the principles and values you hold as important. A personal experience that helps to show my talents and skills can be illustrated by my trip to Italy last April with the MHS Language Department.
I am dedicated to helping out our community and school, because it warms my heart and soul. Seneca said in about 40 to 60 A.D. that you should “be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favors you have received.” In other words you should not boast about the numerous projects you have accomplished and how much physical work you executed, but rather pride yourself on how you helped people in community and school, and how you have affected their lives with positive means. I feel life is joyous and it should be the feeling everyone illustrates, and this is exactly what keeps me functioning in the stressful world today. I find comfort in helping others to make their lives a little more like heaven and this comfort motivates me to perform copious service projects to the best of my capability whenever I find the time. Time is fair to the rich, the poor, and to every race, because time is equal and gives everyone 24 hours daily to accomplish their required tasks. Because time is so valuable and I am occupied by difficult advanced placement and honor classes and juggle school, clubs, sports, and friends, I joined Key Club, a high school division of the adult service club, Kiwanis. Key Club opened new doors to make every extra minute count towards helping others.
Over the four years that I have spent at Good Counsel, I became part of many activities. Each helping me evolve as a person and become stronger yet. Simple lists could be made of every activity that I have ever been involved in but it could never express to a person what I have learned and how it helped me to grow. Every environmental club, science club, political science club, service work, and S.A.D.D. club I was part of had a very special message to deliver to me. Whether the message was one of responsibility, or a life lesson, I grew from it. The Political Science club opened me to many new experiences. It allowed me the chance to attend the Model U.N., where I was asked to address today's top world issues. This club was very beneficial to me because I was exposed to topics and ideas that I had not previously been able to discuss or learn about in a classroom situation. The science club allowed for me to experience extra educational situations as well. I took part in a hovercraft competition, which was very educational while also allowing me the chance to work with others for a common goal.
When a person contributes to their community, they gain more than a just a sense of accomplishment. The experience a person gets in return from helping the community is invaluable. It is a mutually beneficial experience. A person who helps those in need gains knowledge and experience that can help them in future endeavors.
The Eagle Scout Project and the Webelos Experience I volunteered for are both through Boy Scouts. Boy Scouts is a program which children from 11-18 join, while Cub Scouts are 7-11. At the Webelos Experience Boy Scouts help run stations for the Webelos. Webelos is the highest rank in Cub Scouts. This program teaches the values of citizenship and leadership among many things. We can see these values spillover into the real word as many people who have accomplished great things were in the Boy Scout program. These people include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Barber Conable, the president of the World Bank, and even presidents Gerald Ford, and John F. Kennedy. Boy Scouts makes it’s participants better people and commonly volunteer in the community, such as food drives and helping during flag ceremonies at many places including City Hall. I also volunteered at my church, St. Joan of Arc. St. Joan of Arc is very active in the community and goes on mission trips annually, participates in the Mobile Loaves and Fishes program. Also St. Joan of Arc participates in a program in which the church builds affordable housing for people that are homeless or at risk of being homeless and/or people with low income.
Through NJHS and NHS, I have accumulated nearly 170 hours of community service. While working about every other weekend with my peers, I have learned how to be part of a successful team plus how to exercise patience and how deeply community service touches the hearts of those in our neighborhoods. Throughout the summers, I worked for over 180 hours as a volunteer IT assistant and gardener for various churches. During my time in a 15 person team while being the youngest and only female of the group, I regularly interacted with co-workers of different backgrounds and ages, learning to succinctly communicate with the world around us and how to embrace cultures aside from my own. Through the various clubs at Centennial, I have been able to encourage my fellow peers to honor those around us by using our abilities in music, writing, and language arts. I am passionate about using our talents to benefit others and am looking forward to spreading my mentality in
It doesn't take much to make your community a better place, every little bit helps. I've been volunteering more and more ever since my freshman year in high school, starting with volunteering with my school's JROTC program at St. Mary's Dining Hall, a kitchen that feeds the homeless. From this first volunteering experience, I went on to start volunteering more. I was able to learn about more volunteering opportunities through Key Club. From there I volunteered in either donating candy for our school's trunk or treat, canned food for a drive, and participate in other organizations that helps the needy, like Bread of Life. Other clubs have opened up other community service opportunities, such as CSF with small opportunities like writing holiday
Ever since I participated in a variety of public service activities, the purpose for me was to set myself apart. The most effective public service that I ever participated in was contributing as a leader for the non-profit organization called the Chinese American Planning Council. The reason working as a youth leader was very meaningful to me was because I put a lot of effort as a leader to help all the teens in New York City by convincing the New York State government to fund more money to the Summer Youth Employment Program so more teens would be accepted into summer jobs. If more teens are accepted, they can explore their career paths and gain more job experience into what it’s like to working in an actual job. I demonstrated this effort
First of all, I really enjoyed having her next to me because she was very nurturing and compassionate towards me. She briefly shared what she was going through a tough time, which included her boyfriend’s temporary stay in jail and her family conflicts. She spoke about how her family filed a restraining order on her two years ago. She optimistically spoke about her rekindling the relationship with her mother and one of her sisters. And sadly, spoke about continued estrangement from her other sister. She also spoke about the anxiety she felt from spending the weekend without her boyfriend, as she has not been away from her for a year. I can relate to the feeling of being away from the people you love and the inability to control the time apart. Despite all of these, she stated that she was in a good place and did not feel the urge to
These experiences have afforded me opportunities to demonstrate my gifts and talents that had previously gone undiscovered. Through different community service opportunities, I either learned something new about myself or I was reassured something. These qualities include that I am creative, reliable, open-minded, passionate, and an effective team player. Community service changed my life by developing my character through enhancing my transferable skills, which allowed me to see the world differently. Everyone, from all walks of life, needs to in some way, shape, or form give back to the community because it will not only benefit the less fortunate but it will benefit the volunteers as well. Additionally, I learned about the wide variety of resources available to help the community. There are so many resources out there that people are ignorant to like certain shelters and food banks. Ultimately, community service taught me the greatest gift I could ever receive, how to be