I started community service in middle school. Throughout grade school, I was a part of several clubs that promoted service projects. We raked and shoveled for older residents of our town, we went on charity 5ks and 10ks, we organized an annual blood drive at our school, we even helped fund the building of an entire school in Northern Uganda by collecting thousands upon thousands of old books. I can’t say for sure why I dove into community service so early. I’d like to say it was because I had great perspective on life, that I saw suffering, and I wanted to change something, that I believed lots of little acts could add up to a huge movement to make the world a better place. I’d like to say those things, but honestly, I think it was mostly because I was bored. I was bored, and it was as good a thing to spend my time doing as anything. Sure, I loved seeing the faces of the people we helped, but at the time, I didn’t realize how much our small gestures meant to people. I certainly wasn’t looking to change the world.
Then I graduated. As an overwhelmed freshman in college, I went to the first meeting of just about every club I learned about. I stuck with none of them. The one thing I kept up with that I had started in high school was giving blood. I had been a regular blood donor since I turned 17 and had to get a signed form of consent from my mom to give blood. I donated in each of the four blood drive campaigns at Penn State my freshman year. At the last one, I met Julie Agee, then VP of Student Red Cross Club. She was just about the friendliest person I had ever met. She told me I should join the Student Red Cross Club, and I said I would go to a meeting.
Before I knew it, sophomore year had rolled around, and I was starting to get a hang of this “college” thing. I went to the first Student Red Cross Club meeting, like I had promised Julie. I loved everything about it, the people, the work, our advisor, EVERYTHING. Now, I’m VP of the Student Red Cross Club, and I can’t imagine my life without it. When I graduate, I have no doubt in my mind that I’m going to continue volunteering and giving blood. Sometimes you join something for the wrong reasons, but you get so much right out of it. I can’t even tell you why I started doing service. I can tell you the reason I joined the Student Red Cross Club was because a really nice girl told me to. Even still, service has made me the person that I am today, and I owe so much to it. I will spend the rest of my life giving back and reaping the rewards.
“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -Mahatama Gandhi
Also, this is me (with my younger sister):
