Volunteer from the heart, not from ambition
For as long as I can remember, volunteering has always been a part of my life. In elementary school, families were encouraged to help around the community, so I would spend a few weekends working to take care of the garden. In middle school, students were required to complete several hours of community service, which I fulfilled by volunteering at the office of my religious school. In high school, my peers and I are no longer required to complete any sort of volunteering, but still, many of us continue to help out our communities in different ways. And while our good deeds have assisted many, I believe that the true meaning behind volunteering has been lost in the sea of being “just another” activity to write on a college application.
Around the school campus, students discuss their extracurricular activities, listing the hundreds of groups in which they participate to earn a spot in competitive universities. I often find myself questioning why there is this expectation for students to do everything under the sun to look “good” to colleges. Is it human nature to want to be the best, or is it the environment where we are placed? There have been multiple circumstances in which a school counselor has told students to participate in something because it will look good on a college application. Is that really what we are living for? To look “good” compared to thousands of other applicants worldwide? Simply enjoying one’s life and volunteering to help those less fortunate has become an idea of the past.
While I am no expert, I believe that these lengthy extracurricular lists should emphasize genuine passion, rather than just being another box one can check off. I strongly believe that school counselors, college counselors and teachers even, should not be the ones telling students what looks good for college admissions. Life is too short for students to plan their lives around extracurriculars they hate.
I personally love working with children and will take every opportunity I can to volunteer with organizations that give children a better view of the world. For the past two summers, I volunteered at an elementary school to help prepare students for their next school year. I built bonds with every student, learned their favorite things and understood what made them upset. While I often dreaded waking up early during summer, that month was filled with the most rewarding memories. I truly hope that when students volunteer, they feel this same emotion of reward.
In no way am I saying that students should completely stop volunteering. It is essential to many aspects of our community. I just believe that once in a while, we should reflect on the reasons we decide to help others and the impact that we have. Volunteering should not be something to dread. Out of all the things in the world, this should not be something to question. If the only reason to help others is because it is one extra thing to add to a college application, then priorities have gone completely out of hand.
