Community service and volunteering

For one graduate from high school, it is required that one complete 25 hours of community service. This is a directive by the ministry and not the school. Community service or volunteering is regarded as an integral part of rearing well-rounded academicians. As high school students, this helps us to develop maturity, gain the virtues of care and become versatile in future. By mandating all the college students to engage in volunteer services, they help us understand the civic responsibility that can never be acquired in a school set up. Besides, many things are being taught in the class that we need to visualize and interact with in the real world. These include the environmental science, cultural diversities and natural geographies. It is also a chance for us to utilize the knowledge we get in the class to help the community member to solve some of the challenges they are facing. In the process of volunteering, one gets more experience to deal with actual challenges on the ground. If one takes their time t study the market, it could be a chance to develop a career in that can help solve problems the society is facing in the future. However, the most important thing is for the student to be able to interact with the community, create connections, and prepare them for the next level where they need to have some vice and agility.
I undertook my 25 hours of community service under two categories. First I did three hours in the flushing center. Here, I was engaged in cleaning services.

We moved around collecting garbage and ensuring that the environment was cleaner and safer. I could consider this as part of environmental conservation. For a long time, I thought that it is the duty of the county and municipal workers to take care of the litter we threw away each day. I could clutter anyhow knowing that someone was being paid to do the job. After volunteering with the flushing center, my perception was totally changed. I came to learn that maintaining a clean environment goes hand in hand with personal cleanliness. Unless one experiences the toil the workers go through to make the environment sanitary, they cannot understand the importance of helping them have an easier day at work. There are litter bins all over the city where everyone is required to drop their refuse. It takes a short time for the flushing worker to empty the bin if there were no extra rubbish on the ground. However, it takes twice the time to leave a place dirt-free if some ignorant persons just threw the garbage aimlessly. At the same time, I came to learn that it is worthy separating our waste. By putting the biodegradables in one container separate from the non-biodegradables, it is easier to dispose them where the non-biodegradables are taken to recycling companies. Throughout the three hours, I met older adults who taught me the virtue of responsibility and respect. It is by being responsible that we would struggle to have a hygienic living environment. They also taught me how to respond to the diverse needs of the society by applying the skills and experience I gain. This way, I would be able to command dignity and respect other people’s interests and private spaces. The experience gained will go a far way into helping me keep both our homestead and the school clean.
I used all the other hours in the long island sensitizing the public on the need to exercise their right to vote. Voting is a constitutional right offered to every American citizen. However, owing to the long stand between the two strong opponents in the 2016 American elections. Where Trump was standing out to be evil and opposed to the development agendas many New York City dwellers were vying for, Clinton had a long standing history of corruption in the outgoing government. At the same time, they were torn in between bringing new development plans under the Republican Party or continuing with the Obamacare under the Democratic Party. Many people in the Long Island were against the Obama regime asserting that it killed the American economy and integrity through retrogressive agendas and failing to take strong stands on issues of immigration and terrorism. Our main aim was, however, to call on people to come out in large numbers to exercise their constitutional right. We based our arguments on the basis that it was everyone’s right to vote for whomever president they thought would bring the change they required and that is good for the people of Long Island and America as a whole. The truth that remained is that no matter who won the presidential race or which party took control, the country had to enter into a new era and accept the results. These are the benefits of participating in the voting process so that one could either for the government or the opposition. The citizen had to tolerate yet another cycle of election rules and sacrifice the measure of human dignity to exercise their fundamental right.
Before we embarked on the campaign, we were taken through some basic training. This took three hours and involved how to conduct ourselves when approaching peoples homestead. One of the virtues we were taught to uphold was dignity and respect. It was sensitized to us that we would at times meet non-responsive groups. Part of the training was on how to handle ourselves to make sure that such situations did not turn against us as we would be subjected to torture under the mob.
The whole exercise took ten days where I was required to use three hours every day giving out the flyers and informing people of the need to come out in large numbers to set up the next government. The whole exercise taught me three primary things. The first is the need for every citizen to enjoy democracy by taking part in the formation of a fair and visionary governing system. The second is the use of excellent communication skills. All along, I was required to communicate to people of different kind and classes. One virtue required of me was the convincing power and ability to negotiate through argument. Since many were opposed to voting, I had to depend on my persuasive skill to make them agree to vote. Finally, I learned about the need to observe ethics especially when it to dealing with the public. One has to uphold the virtues of respect, diligence, and dignity for one to be publically acceptable. I completed all my community service hours. I gained a lot of experience and liked it. Being able to serve the community and learn from them is very beneficial to me as it has not only educated me but also change my approach to the society as a whole. I am happy that I will eventually graduate.