Role Models

But what does it really mean to serve?

Is it holding the door open for the person behind you?

Is it doing the dishes even when your parents didn’t ask you to?

Is it picking up the empty Chipotle burrito wrapper that didn’t quite make it into the trash can?

Or is it just taking a few seconds of your day to think about what you’re grateful for?

These are all examples of service. But each one just a mere fragment of the bigger picture. It is the single most selfless and pure act of kindness: to give without expecting anything in return. Even more so, it means giving yourself up to something greater than yourself.

As a naive high-schooler, my only perception and understanding of “service” at the time was my time spent volunteering at the hospital on the weekends. But what I failed to see was that service didn’t have to be dressed in a collared uniform, with its shirt tucked in, and a badge stuck to the shirt. It was everywhere, from the “I love you’s” between siblings, to the people who choose to spend their Thanksgivings handing out food to others.

I don’t think I fully understood what it meant to serve until I joined UniCamp as a sophomore at UCLA.

It was here that I became surrounded by hundreds of students that gave their everything. They dedicated their entire springs and summers to these children from low-income families. They spent hundreds of hours training, planning fundraisers to raise money for camp, and pouring their heart out for this organization. Some of them had been a part of camp for over 7 years, coming back to volunteer even after they had graduated.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that these were the people that embodied the definition of passion, dedication, and service. They inspired me. This was what I wanted to do. To learn and grow from them. To become a part of something greater than myself.

This past summer was my third year of camp. Surrounded by 15 amazing teenagers, I envisioned that they would walk away with a renewed sense of purpose and reason to serve. I wanted to empower them through service learning, providing them with the tools to become student leaders down the mountain in their communities.

Before every meal, we would go around and share something that we were thankful for in our lives. Before we went to sleep, we would pull out our journals and write down how and who we served today. Before we went back to our cabin, they would help each other clean the dishes for all of camp, sometimes staying hours after the sun had set. Yet, never once did I hear them complain or whine about how much work they had to do. They just kept encouraging and pushing one another to keep on going. Watching each and every one of them grow and mature over the course of the week made me proud beyond words.

As I sit here now, reflecting on my week of camp, I can’t help but smile and feel my heart glow with warmth. These kids have taught me so much about service and about myself. It is something that I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. It is something that I will share with the people around me. It is something that has become a part of who I am today and who I will become in the future.

Singing songs, playing games, and changing lives. That’s what service is all about.