By Jenny Tran
The alarm blares, its tiresome racket blasting through the silence of the room. It signals the bright and early morning—of a Saturday.
Waking up early on a weekend isn’t particularly an ideal scenario for many students. But for those who go out of their way to spend their mornings volunteering, it’s a completely different story.
Picking up litter at the beach, toes severely deep in the sand. Rushing through medical tents, hastily trying to help all the patients. Spooning eggs onto a tray as breakfast begins at a soup kitchen.
Community service encompasses a realm of endless possibilities. It is something students should take the time to dive into and truly relish.
Many students, however, view the act of volunteering as merely gaining service hours. Students should not see this as their sole motive for volunteering. There is a much larger purpose than just the numbers.
There is an authenticity that comes with helping a purpose or cause: the concept of being genuinely helpful. You would most likely not enjoy volunteering if you’re solely doing it for the hours.
There is also the generosity that comes with it. You can make differences in the lives of others, from large to small.
Through the many different types of volunteer work you can take on, you can really delve into the community. You get out of your comfort zone and experience parts of society that you wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. Senior Tracy Nguyen, president of several FVHS clubs, voices her ardor for volunteering.
“By volunteering throughout high school, I have become the selfless and compassionate person I am today,” Nguyen said. “I would honestly say that volunteering is what I most look forward to every weekend. From food distributions to cancer survivors, to helping out at a hospital, to lending a hand at my church, I love the feeling of bringing joy into someone else’s life.”
Knowing you are helping a cause or purpose truly changes you as a person. When you are aiding those who are struggling or less privileged than you, you start to grow empathy for people. You can make connections and become more understanding of the situations of others. You can start to see the value and passion in the little things, and grow confident in your abilities to help others.
Volunteering doesn’t only benefit the lives of others, but it opens doors for you, too.
“For me, volunteering in Medical Society, Project Vietnam and a hospital has really helped me confirm my aspirations to work in the medical field,” Nguyen said. “I firmly believe that it is able to improve anyone’s job prospects. I have also been exposed to and granted several great opportunities because of volunteering.”
However, these benefits might not stretch to every student. Some might not also find the same joy in volunteering or acknowledge its worthiness. They might also find immense stress in having to collect hours. One student, who requested to remain anonymous, illustrates the issues they have with volunteering.
“I think that volunteering can be uncomfortable and embarrassing for people who are antisocial like me,” the student said. “It sucks that colleges require you to have 1000 volunteer hours and just the fact that extroverted people get to have this advantage in society. Obviously, volunteering also takes away time by you picking up trash when you could be doing homework. I also get that it shows that you have leadership skills, but imagine making your parents drive you every weekend to some random institution and waiting for two hours before they have to pick you up again.”
Struggles like these are completely understandable—not everyone will have the same experience volunteering. Not everyone will have the same privileges or willingness either. That being said, it is important to not see volunteer work as a chore, but as something you want to see yourself doing.
Make sure that the work you do is something you see benefit in, not only for yourself but others. Find a purpose or goal that you are genuinely interested in and would willingly sacrifice your time to work toward. The experiences you gain volunteering might not be the easiest, but they can be some of the most valuable ones you get.
Sophomore Kaylie Do, who volunteers for FVHS’s Sea Leaf club in cleaning beaches, expresses the pleasure she finds in volunteering.
“Well, it’s made me wake up earlier on the weekends,” Do said. “And, I’m able to spend more time with my friends helping out the community. Whether it be, you know, cleaning up or passing out balloons. I enjoy cleaning up Bolsa Chica and helping out the environment.”
You shouldn’t force yourself to volunteer if you can’t. Volunteering is not defined as “work you have to do.” It means to freely offer yourself to undertake a task. And, the task you are doing should be something you find worthiness in.
In the end, there is much more to volunteering than what meets the eye—or in this case, hours on a spreadsheet. Even if it’s to the smallest extent, you are still changing at least one person’s life for the better. If you do decide to walk into a volunteer event, don’t think about the hours you will get or how good you will look on paper. See it as an opportunity to not only help others, but also change yourself for the better.
