What exactly spawned my love of service to others and to the community? When I look back on all the events that could have possibly contributed to my love of giving back to others, one event stands clear in my mind as being the most influential: Ronald McDonald House. As a member of National Honor Society in high school, we organized ourselves under four main pillars that guided our activities day in and out, one of which being Service, which rather dominated the organization as a whole. An annual activity for our organization was to prepare a giant meal for families of patients in Nationwide Children’s Hospital, organized at a nearby building, the Ronald McDonald House.
Besides teaching me necessary leadership skills in organizing an event and executing it, this event was mainly dedicated to the idea of volunteering and all the positives that can be pulled from something like volunteering. Going into this event, I had expected something rather similar to other events I had worked with in the past; just another volunteering opportunity to look good on a resume, and another opportunity to market myself to others. I remember going into high school with the advice from others that volunteering helps you find yourself and feel good helping others, and up to this point I had a vague sense of what this feeling was, but I was not overly convinced with the past advice I had received.
When we first arrived, I had this preconceived notion from before. “Just another volunteering opportunity”, I remember thinking to myself. I could not have been more wrong. As we started preparing the meal for all the residents; however, the faces of my colleagues were brightly lit, as bright as the faces of children on Christmas morning. I was baffled, for I did not know the exact cause of their ecstasy. My confusion came rather intense, as I became frustrated for my lack of insight in that moment.
My friend, another member of NHS caught wind of my frustration, and inquired on that frustration, and when I told him what was frustrating me, he explained me the simple fact I was missing: “Their faces are insight into the wonderful feeling of service they are experiencing… We are about to serve hundreds of people, and help them through a harsh time in their lives… We are going to do this for no charge, except to feel good ourselves… I find myself surprised every time I volunteer by the level of gratitude those we serve show us, and that is why I know exactly why they are smiling”.
Essentially, what I learned that night was exactly what my friend had explained to me; however, I will not explain the rest of the details from that night due to sheer length that would be. But this event taught me a lot about my present life that I will continue to adapt to my future. The spirit of service will be forever ignited as a result of that night, and that is very important to me because one of my firmest beliefs is that those who have the time to volunteer should volunteer to those in need, because giving is one of the greatest qualities in life. Some have still not discovered this important fact, and the fact that I have will make me more desirable to future employers over those who have not. Volunteering at Ronald McDonald House taught me service and sparked my love for giving to others, and I will remember that for the rest of my life. While this event did push me outside of my comfort zone learning this important quality of myself, I do not regret a second of it because I am a better person now.