For many high school students, as college and other opportunities become increasingly competitive, many find themselves trying to delve deeper into activities that will “boost” their resume. One of the many ways students do this is through community service. They pour themselves into the community in hopes that it might gain them more of a fighting chance when it is time to submit a resume to the world.
Community service is a tool that high school students take for granted. The ability to give back to the community is a tool that should be treasured, because if we lose sight of what’s around us, then how can we appreciate what we have to gain?
Community service gives us the chance to make a difference at a local level. In today’s society, we are faced with so many different obstacles that are constantly pressing on our conscience. With all the events happening around us, from climate change to social injustices, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless.
Community service gives us an outlet to change our lives for the better, starting locally. Little things like volunteering to clean up a park in our community, or volunteering at a soup kitchen, add up. We might not be changing the lives of others on a widespread level, but we are still changing the lives of others close to us.
Another way community service is impactful is how it changes our outlook on life. It builds empathy and compassion. While that may seem like a very rudimentary skill to most, many people do not have a chance to truly employ those traits in their everyday lives. Students take for granted the kindness that they are shown and instead forget how to show that same kindness to others.
But when we step outside our bubbles and see the struggles faced by others, it opens our eyes to the diverse experiences and challenges in our communities. It helps us realize that we’re not alone in this world and that we have a responsibility to help those in need. It teaches us the value of hard work, perseverance and teamwork. It forces us to step outside of our comfort zones and interact with people from different backgrounds and walks of life.
Using community service to gain recognition from colleges is fine because there is good being done even if it is not for a necessarily authentic reason, but that is not to say that community service should only be pursued because of its benefits for oneself. For students especially, community service is one of the biggest reminders that there is more to life than grades and academic value. Life is all around us, constantly occurring whether we get an A-plus in math or a D-minus.
High school is tough and only gets harder with each coming day, but volunteering is a tool to remedy that because we can put our time and talents into helping those in need. While students may think that their worth only comes from their academic achievements, there is always a community around them. Students might be surprised by how much they get back in return for just a simple deed. After all, as the saying goes, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”