BUCK-I-SERV: Food and Friends

I am not great at making decisions. I spend hours weighing the choices I have, and I often regret my decision immediately after I make it. So naturally having to make a swift decision is stressful for me. The irony is that I’ve yet to regret a decision I had to make on the fly, and that was exactly why after I submitted my application to go on a BUCK-I-SERV trip over spring break I wasn’t worried.

I didn’t know about BUCK-SERV until one week before last spring break. When I figured out it exists, I was thrilled; it was exactly what I was looking for. I thought it was too late for me to participate that spring break. But then it turned out that some trips still had some open spots. I didn’t think twice about it. I filled out the application and submitted it that night and I am so glad I did.

I went with a group of about 10 students to Washington DC to volunteer with the organization Food and Friends for a week. I have always loved volunteering and found joy in helping others, but this experience exceeded all of my expectations and taught me so much. Food and Friends is an organization that prepares meals for patients who find it difficult to get their own food. The minute you walk into the building, you can sense the positivity radiating off of everyone there. The volunteers and employees worked with contagious enthusiasm that I didn’t want the week to end.

Everything I got to help with, from preparing meals, to packaging, and to delivering them felt important. I understood that by providing these meals I was making someone’s day so much better. This was clear to me especially when I got to deliver the meals. The appreciation I saw on the clients’ faces filled me with joy. This trip showed me how my services have a positive effect on people’s lives. From volunteering at Riverside Methodist Hospital and at Noor Free Clinic, I already knew that volunteering makes a difference. But this trip was different. At the hospital and free clinic, if I don’t volunteer, the nurses and staff can get my job done. For Food and Friends, however, volunteers pretty much run the show and without them, the organization couldn’t reach nearly as many clients as the do.

I always have, and will continue to, enjoy volunteering and providing services. Whether it be at the hospital, free clinic, or through a BUCK-I-SERV trip, in each of these opportunities to serve I am able to make someone’s day better. Getting someone a cold cup of water in a moment of desperation or helping new immigrants fill out registration forms doesn’t take much time or effort from me but on the other side it makes all of the difference for the people I am helping.

The London Honors Experience

My first semester in college would not have been the same had I not been part of the London Honors program. Both the lectures and the trip shaped me as a student and as a person. The most important takeaway for me as a student was allowing my curiosity to shape my learning. As I read Ghost Map, I found myself wanting to know more about the history of cholera and its treatment, and thus I often resorted to Googling every question that crossed my mind. Another topic that I also found myself learning more about in my free time was the National Health Service of the UK. While it is not so special for topics covered in class to strike a special interest in me, I found myself wanting to learn even though I was not going to be tested on the material. As for my time in London, I wanted to learn about the details of what I was seeing and not just let everything I see jumble together in one vague memory. I appreciate having this experience so early in my college career. I think the attention to details and the personal urge to learn are valuable virtues that I will benefit from in the future both academically and personally.

The time I spent in London greatly inspired me to travel more and get out of my comfort zone more often. One of the reasons I wanted to be part of the London Honors program was to experience what study abroad may be like. Thankfully, after the trip I am no longer worried about being abroad without my family. I was amazed at how quickly I got used to using the tube system in London and travelled around the city with my friends so easily. I cannot wait to go on another adventure abroad. There are two trips abroad I am hoping to go on before the end of my undergraduate study: a service trip and a study abroad trip in a French speaking country. My trip to London made me sure that I am more than capable of taking care of myself abroad. Also, I know that every trip I take will be a success, because there is no better way to become accepting, appreciative, and knowledgeable of other cultures than by visiting them and experiencing them in person.