My Community Service Experience Reflection Paper

If you asked me about my attitude towards community service many years ago, you'd hear the negative answer. I believe that most people have the same opinions on this. Whoever asked you to do something without getting a refund? That was the main reason why I wasn't drawn to community service. When I began my voluntary work, the idea of community service was a bore to me. While I knew I had to do it, I was afraid to start my community service. I didn't even care where I got my hours. I was just trying to get it over. This wasn't what I was expecting to my surprise. Surprisingly, Day of Service was not a painful experience; it was fun-filled and an awesome opportunity to meet the people I would spend the next four years of my life with whilst helping the community grow.

I performed my community service at the Ludlow-Taylor site. The site was located at a school that asked for assistance with painting and landscaping. Most of the volunteers were from the eighth floor of Potomac House where I also reside however smaller groups of people were selected by preference and availability in each activity. Initially, I was shy, and I only knew my suitemates, so I had planned to stay closer to them throughout the day, but their group had gotten overcrowded in a matter of seconds, so I searched for people in need of an extra member. All the groups were packed- great start, am I right? - therefore I began breaking down sticks and larger branches with one of our mentors, Christopher. Boredom and exhaustion began to rain in, so I moved onto a different area where my Resident Advisor, Grayson, was. We began filling dry areas of the new garden we set up with black mulch whilst talking and getting to know more about each other since she lived directly across from me. Eventually I took a break and had a sandwich for lunch and talked with a few more people. It turned out there were people who lived in Fulbright Hall and they had no clue who anyone was so I clung onto them for the rest of the day. I finished up with weeding out an area with my new friends. We shared many lives while we worked until it was nearing the time for us to leave.

I went into this day with a very reluctant attitude. I think the hardest part was having to work for so long under the piping hot sun after I had soccer practice prior to our departure for the site. However, helping to change the lives of these people was fulfilling. I was happy with how much I learned about the people of Ludlow-Taylor and the amount of connections I formed with people. After seeing how we helped this small environment with a job that they probably wouldn’t have completed in a week, much less a few hours, my approach towards the day had drastically changed. I think an underlying social issue my service work addressed was that you don’t get any reward from community service. Community service building requires people working in the community. I'm sure it's another great advantage not to be missed. You communicate with others when you're working in a group, and this interaction will change a lot in your life.

Community service helps us to understand some things we never had before. This allows us to think about the motivations and the consequences of our daily actions. This allows us to properly set our goals. You are working for society's benefit and putting on the second stage your immediate need. I noticed after the day's significant time had passed that I wasn't as selfish as I was before. I was taught this day to consider other people around me and become a true part of society, not just a logical part of it. I know that volunteering for community service is not difficult and all the experiences I have learned will have a major impact on my future life.