I strongly believe that being
a volunteer is essential in becoming a well-developed human being. Some high school
administrations have taken this into account and made it mandatory. I know from
experience, that everyone had to dedicate a minimum of 60 hours to community
service in order to graduate from my high school. This was a simple task for me
seeing as though I had over 60 hours by my sophomore year, however it really
bothered me that helping others in our community was something that students
had to be forced to do. It bothered me even more that some students put this
task off to the last minute and ended up faking their hours.
I am from Westlake, Ohio,
which is a suburb of Cleveland. Being so close to the city has broadened the
scope of how I looked at how privileged my family and I were. Although we live
merely 14 minutes away from the inner city of Cleveland, we truly live a
completely different life. There was never a time where I had to go to sleep
hungry or even be worried that there wouldn’t be any presents under the
Christmas tree. I first realized how truly grateful I was when my family and I
went downtown to see a performance of Wicked. There were children, alone,
begging for spare change in order to get something to eat. I cried and got so
scared because I thought that was going to happen to me and my siblings. My
father explained to me the differences between us and them. Although I couldn’t
control the fact that they got the short end of the stick, it didn’t seem fair
to me.
With guidance from my mom, I
started becoming very involved with the homeless and disadvantaged population
of Cleveland. We would serve meals at soup kitchens, donate toys and winter clothing,
and other various activities. I might have just been one little girl in charge
of scooping mashed potatoes or giving a few pairs of knit gloves, but I believe
I made a difference. I learned more about the world from the people I met than
I ever will in any history class. I gained insights to what it was like to live
in poverty. These experiences also inspired me to always go beyond what was
required of me. I hope one day I will be able to start my own non-profit
organization to impact the lives of those less fortunate than I am.
