Paste your essay in here…Soleil Corvelo
PSP 101
13 December 2018
Community service is one of the most vital tasks that people within a society must partake in. It is our responsibility to conquer this task and think about what we are doing, what we are trying to achieve, and most importantly what the outcome will be. When seeing all of the components that go into it, it is no longer as simple as many people may think. Developing a personal philosophy on the best way to approach service takes listening to people of many backgrounds, looking at history, seeing what has been successful and what has been devastating. It also takes involving yourself in a number of different sectors of service, seeing what seems successful and what seems counterproductive. My personal philosophy of service is to approach service with both my head and my heart. When entering any service situation it is important to see the people receiving my service as a person on an equal level to me and foster a relationship with them; while also thinking in a systematic manner to assure that they can benefit the most from the service and assure that the service has long-term impacts and non-destructive side repercussions.
The term service is a very broad term and can be interpreted in a number of ways, causing many people to not know the true meaning of what service is. Service is an action completed by people trying to better the lives of their fellow community members, as well as just the community itself. Service in its true and most effective mode is one that aims at social change and justice. Many people see service as a charity act. A charity act can be donating food at a local food pantry to be handed out to people struggling to make ends meet financially. Or it could be donating a bicycle to someone who walks to work every day and cannot afford a car or does not have access to public transportation. It could also be donating presents during the holiday season for families that work a full-time job, but still cannot seem to find any excess money to surprise their kids during the holidays. While all of these actions have good intentions behind them, they are not always the most effective, in fact, they ignore many things. First and foremost, these actions are only short-term solutions to recurrent and deepening problems. As a community, we need to think about why these people cannot buy food, presents, or a vehicle. In addition, many of these actions are lead solely by our hearts and what makes us feel good at the end of the day. Selfishly, we donate a few hours, a few canned goods, and a few presents thinking we bettered the lives of others while also making ourselves feel like “good” people. Instead of leading with just our heart, we must lead with our head too. Concerning the aforementioned person who works a full-time job and still cannot afford a car, as a society we must recognize that there is a problem there. While donating the bicycle was nice, there are thousands of other people stuck in the same position as that one man, so we need to find a solution to give the power to these people to have the money to buy a bicycle. Social change in this instance would be to reconsider minimum wage, and rethink it so that it is enough for somebody to get by on their own. If that is not feasible, then we must rethink the public transportation system, making it run routes that are accessible to everyone and at more convenient times for people to have access to a morning and night bus to get both to and from work. By thinking in this way, people are still able to lead with their hearts, empathizing with those who may not have access to all of the things that we often take for granted, but by also thinking of a better way to approach the situation so that we can actually help more people and eradicate issues before we worsen them.
This is not an easy pill to swallow at first because we do not want to feel like everything we have done thus far in our life, service wise, has been a waste of time or even counterproductive. Numerous times throughout the semester I felt discouraged or upset with some of the hard facts. For instance, I considered going overseas to do some service work for people. However, when reflecting on why I would be going there and what the benefit would be, I found a lot more negatives rather than positives. Initially, however, I thought I would be doing a great heroic deed that any American should do if they have the opportunity and funds to. One of the negatives was that I found that I was leading too much with my heart. I was stuck with a mindset that I felt bad for all of these people and I even pitied their “sad and depressing” life. By doing just that, I stopped thinking of them as equals to me and started to think of them as inferior people calling out for help. In addition, many of these people do not even want interlopers coming in and disrupting their life flows. In addition, there is work at home that requires my attention, than that overseas. We cannot ignore our own community members and help to foster their needs and utilize their assets. On top of that, many of these service trips focus on the service-project type of service activities. These often leave people or even entire countries in a far worse position than they were initially in. However, after we leave the country, all that we see is the “great” work we have done, we do not think twice about the people we have left behind and all of the issues we have left behind with it. Instead of doing things for other people, we should teach them how to do it for themselves, not just in foreign countries, but domestically too. This again encapsulates the idea of leading with the heart and head. By teaching these people, we begin to foster relationships with them, putting the recipient and the giver of service on a common ground where one is not superior to the other and vis versa. In addition, it teaches skills that these people can continue to use even whether or not the service workers are still present. This again eradicates problems and leaves both parties satisfied and happy.
This philosophy of service ties right back to my moral compass and what I believe to be right from wrong. In any situation in life, it is important to remember that any human being is our equal despite their race, gender, socio-economic background, and a plethora of other groupings. By seeing people as just people, not for their appearance, wallet, or anything else, this allows me to effectively lead with my heart in all actions. If I was to discriminate people or place all people into a stereotype based on those classifications, I would automatically not be looking at them as if they were human, but rather as an object that is lacking the complexity to be individualized. On top of that, I believe in justice for all people, and this falls right back into what it means to create a social-change in order for social justice. Prior to this, I would have never agreed to break the law for nearly any circumstance because I believed that laws were put in place for the good of all the people. As a matter of fact, however, now I believe that if a law is unjust or prohibits people from gaining access to their basic rights or puts a group of people at a high risk for discrimination, then it is actually the right thing to challenge the law. Laws are instituted to protect the people and ensure the safety of all American citizens, therefore if it is jeopardizing the safety and security of citizens it is actually our obligation to break the law, or at least speak out against it and its harms. This also requires us to lead with our hearts and heads. Instead of just feeling bad that a law is discriminating against a group of people, we must also use our heads to know that we have the power and the ability to speak out or challenge things that challenge the justice in our society. Since we have that power, we must utilize it and achieve that social-justice that is most desirable. Lastly, when I walk into any situation, I want to accomplish all that I can and make the best out of any situation possible. Concerning service, this has shaped my views, specifically the importance of leading with the head. Instead of doing charity acts, which are very easy and leave you feeling good at the end of the day, I want to strive for social justice work. While it may be more challenging and results will not be seen overnight, this will do the greatest good for the greatest number of people and lessen the chances that history will repeat itself over and over, time and time again.
Concerning my personal service this year, I do not think there were many long-lasting impacts or monumental changes. It did leave me a lot more educated, however. Walking into Smith Hill, I was stuck in the mindset that this area was poverty-stricken, full of criminals and thieves who would steal from me because they did not have the motivation to work, and contained many people who did not care about their children. After working at the Smith Hill Library though, my perceptions slowly changed one visit at a time. As I met children and their families, I realized how ignorant I was of the fact that using stereotypes to make judgments is not the most effective way to analyze and assess a new situation I have never entered before. This also caused me to make poor assumptions about people and their families. Over time, I came to the recognition that I was very wrong. Many parents who struggle in the English language bring their children over to the homework helpers who have a good education in the language and all of its complex and easily misunderstood components. By simply bringing their kids over, they are showing a care and concern for their children that I originally thought that all people lacked for their children. In addition, there were many adults who came into the library looking for resources or information about how to handle their finances. This made me realize that many people are looking for jobs and interested in bettering their lives and looking more effective ways to provide for their families. In addition, many parents send their children to the library’s afterschool program because they work long hours and are trying to back to school, again breaking the barrier of another stereotype I found myself trapped in believing. What is interesting, however, is the fact that I probably would have continued to believe those stereotypes if I had not begun to talk to the children/adults I was working with. By initiating conversation every week with these people, they started to take trust in me and tell me about their lives and what every day looks like. Looking from the outside, it is hard to see what people are doing on the inside. This reinforces my philosophy to lead with the heart and the head. I no longer feel bad for these people, I understand them and see them as equal to me. In addition, I used my head to work with this program in the most efficient way possible.
The impact I left on the library was a little different from the impact it left on me. Doing my work at the library, I focused mainly on homework help. While this program is common among many communities, I feel it was especially important in this community or any community where the people are so diverse and many of them do not have English as their first language. By engaging in this homework help, I am leading with my heart allowing myself to get to know these children, while also leading with my head. I do not give them the answer, but rather I encourage them to find it themselves through different tools and strategies I enable them with. If I were to just feel bad for them and think they did not have the skillset to do their own work, I would have just given them the answer and made them move on, not benefiting them in the slightest. In addition, I believe the program is one that is working toward social justice. Smith Hill recognized that many students have parents at home that may struggle to speak English, or do not even speak English at home. Therefore, by providing this resource they are giving the students the opportunity to learn English, which, unfortunately, is something typically necessary for those seeking jobs. By giving children the tools to pass their classes and have a great understanding of the English language, Smith Hill is helping the students build a foundation they need for a successful life and career. This further allows them to be able to provide for their own family and children as they get older and complete their public education. In addition, for the parents, the library is allowing them to continue to work the hours that they need to make the money that they need to fund their homes and their children. Being a part of that, I feel as if I have contributed to this path to success for a number of people, who otherwise may be in a vicious cycle of poverty and lack of education.
Now that I have completed community service at the Smith Hill Library, that does not mean that I can just forget the philosophy of service that I have crafted over the past semester. In order to maintain this philosophy, I need to continue to be analytical about what organizations I choose to contribute time or money to in the future. These organizations must not simply run off of the desires and passions of the heart, like those that make people dependent on their services. Instead, I want to continue to get involved with organizations that recognize problems and work toward a sustainable and effective solution to avoid any negative side effects. While I am only a freshman at Providence College, I want to look at staying involved in the Smith Hill community, since it will be my community for at least the next three and a half years. While I am here, I may consider continuing to serve at the library as I have this semester, remembering that there is always time to serve in the community. In addition, I may look at seeing what I can do for the Smith Hill Community Development Corporation. They recognized that homelessness was a problem in the community and they have now worked to find a solution to enable people to find affordable housing that they can work to provide on their own. When it comes to paying rent, the CDC makes all tenants come in to pay the bill to build that all-so-important relationship. That is a mission I can stand behind because it pulls at the heartstrings, while also thinking systematically about the situation at hand.
All in all, developing a personal philosophy of service allows people to think critically about service and their responsibility to do it. It also forces people to think about social problems within their community or even those that are occurring worldwide. Finally, it makes people recognize that they may not be doing the best that they can to eliminate the problems faced in the community. Through my personal philosophy, it allows me to remember my morals and values that at the end of the day we are all people living in this crazy life and it is most important to think critically about decisions that do not just affect my life, but the lives of many.