Service Learning by Carmen

Service Learning by Carmen - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

Selfishness has become very prominent in American society today. Everyone becomes so focused on themselves they forget to look outward and see others are struggling too. This selfishness can lead to depression, which is rapidly growing in our country. I believe the best way to get past this selfishness is through serving others. This is why if I were to add a subject to the American high school curriculum, I would add a class specifically dedicated to service.

You often hear people say, “I would serve others, but when would I do it? Where do I find opportunities to serve? How do I start?” This class would give all high school age kids an opportunity to serve others on a regular basis, which would not only help others physically but also mentally help those providing the service. Service brings happiness to the beneficiaries as well as those offering it. When a person focuses on the needs of others, his own problems seem to diminish. Instead of thinking of the things one wishes for himself, as he looks outward, he finds himself thinking of the needs of others.

This class would show the students various ways to serve, teaching them how to see other’s needs and find opportunities to help. Service could be anything, such as giving clothes to those living in third-world countries, visiting a local rest home, a small act of random kindness, or even smiling at someone in the hallway at school. Small kind acts of service one performs have the ability to completely change the attitude of a person receiving the service, making what could be an awful day better.

High school is a place full of insecurities, cliques, social struggles, stress, and anxiety. It is so easy in this environment to focus on everything that one feels they are not. They may wrestle with insecurities of thinking they are not pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough, social enough, or anywhere near as good as the students around them. This is why students need a class where they are not focusing on themselves. They need a class where they are exclusively looking for ways to assist those who need help. A high school with even just a small focus on serving those around them will become a friendlier environment for all the students there. This is a way to lessen the burdens all students bear.

A service class will help teenagers look outside themselves, be kinder to those around them, and bring happiness to all in the vicinity of the service. True happiness does not come from looking inward. People must look outward and move from selfishness to selflessness.