I’m going to keep it real.
Volunteering sucks sometimes. A
couple of Fridays ago I spent four hours helping out the international center
set up for its annual fundraiser (the International Food Bazaar). Immediately after I got out of class I headed
for the international center. Me and a
few other volunteers then began loading up a few trucks with all the supplies
we would need to set up at Saint Toms.
This didn’t take long at all, and mislead some of us to think that
putting it all up would be a breeze.
About three hours later I left, it was 7pm, and they still weren’t done
setting up. On the walk home from Saint
Toms it began to rain and I was headed to the other side of campus (hence my
saying “Volunteering sucks”). While I was
working I spoke with a couple of guys who looked like they were in their mid to
late twenties. They told me that they
were taking a communications class and that they were volunteering because it
was also a service learning course. Much
like our blogs they had to write essays or journals each week. So when I heard that I was thankful that I
wasn’t taking that course.
After all that work I put into helping set up for the event
I didn’t get to go because I had work.
Then this week I got an email from the people who run global café saying
that it was going to be a chill event where we could just come and relax and
hang out. There was going to be free
food which sounded pretty good but I didn’t end up going because I had
homework. I felt kind of bad too because
I told myself that I would keep going to the events even if I didn’t need the
hours. However, I guess that is what
next year is for. So on the other hand
Volunteering doesn’t suck sometimes. In
fact, it can be fun and exciting and the majority of my volunteering this year
had taught me this. I shouldn’t let a bad
experience discourage me. I guess next
time I won’t volunteer to help setup something of that magnitude or I can just start
my volunteering earlier so I don’t have to cram at the end of the semester if
it’s for a class or something.
It is so true that volunteering can be terrible. It always seems to rain when I have to go to my location.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a Com service learning class would be much worse than this class.
I hear ya about missing events. My special olympics group meets on the weekends now too and I would love to spend time with them but I always have a ton of homework or I have to work. I think I am the opposite of you on cramming though. I got all my hours done early but now I am cramming more in because I don't want to leave these people because they have become such a big part of my life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on both points: that volunteering can sometime sucks, but it can also end up being really fun. I guess it all depends on the time you have to commit to a certain volunteering assignment or if the place fits with your personality. I feel like setting up for an event at a different location can kind of be related to moving into a new apartment or house. Once everything is packed up, it seems like it will take no time at all to unload everything because it was all organized. But actually, it ends up taking longer because of the details of setting up, especially if it is a place that you haven't been to before, like an apartment. It does suck that you weren't able to attend the events towards the end, but that is what dead week and finals week will do to your free time.
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