Community Service - the act of going out into the community to help others. Sounds lame, does it not? Many people do not like helping others without payment, but community service does pay - just not the payment most people expect. As a student at a Catholic high school, service has always been apart of my life. Although I was unappreciative and against it at first, I quickly learned that service has its benefits. Because it improves overall mood and helps with college admissions, community service is the most important extracurricular a high school student can do.
Service can completely change one's mood. After my freshman year, I attended my first mission trip to Harlan, Kentucky. I never really thought about doing this; it was just something my older siblings did and I was going to do it to. I was going and it was as simple as that. Once there, I was assigned to help to re-roof the house of an old woman, Marsha. My group and I showed up at Marsha's house on Monday, and I was nervous. I had never been on a ladder or a roof before. I ended up getting on the roof but was not very motivated to get work done. Unfortunately, when we arrived on Tuesday, we learned that Marsha had been taken to the hospital the night before. This motivated all of us to work harder so she could live in a safer house when she returned. We continued our work throughout the week and Marsha finally returned on Friday, the day we were leaving. After seeing her new roof, which was almost complete, she was so happy. As we left, she called us her "little angels" and we all knew how grateful she was. I could not stop smiling the whole way home.
That is what community service does for a person. The feeling of helping another when they need it is not easy to explain but it is one that one learns with experience. It is a feeling that can not be forgotten.
This year, I got to experience that feeling again with my service at St. Margaret of Scotland. A few Wednesdays this year, I went and helped at their after school program. Because of the low-income families they serve, St. Margaret of Scotland needs volunteers after school for the kids whose parents work. Each time, I went and helped students with their homework. One time, I helped a few third graders with a math worksheet. Simply seeing the smile on their face after figuring out a problem made the feeling return again. I was so happy to help the kids. For the hour or so I volunteered each time, I forgot it was a requirement. I forgot about all the homework I had to do and all the pressures school was giving me. I was just happy to help.
If someone does not care about the emotional benefit, they will certainly care about the benefits it gives for college admissions. On a college resume, colleges look for extracurricular activities. Having service as an extracurricular is especially good to have. According to My College Path, colleges look for community service as it shows that you want to improve the world, are compassionate, and can work well with others. All of these are important to colleges.
Overall, community service pays in overwhelming amounts of joy - and it doesn't look bad on a college resume either. Some say service is stupid, but the benefits it offers prove it is not. Community service - a stress reliever that could even help get someone into college.
