The Search for Self-Improvement as a Summer-time Missionary by Matthew

The Search for Self-Improvement as a Summer-time Missionary by Matthew - August 2021 Scholarship Essay

Though many teenagers are pressed into volunteer service (an ironic situation) to fulfill required hours for graduation or various other needs, a good number do have pure intentions and willingly do it. However, the main benefit that many receive is a temporary feeling of self-accomplishment which typically dissipates within a couple of days. I have fallen victim to this. However, this past summer, I was able to break past that and had an amazing experience that changed me.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to join the ECYD Mission Corps as a missionary, a program that allowed high schoolers to give the month of June for service in various cities across America. I joined primarily to expose myself to new environments and people as well as find ways to continue to grow as a person. I was assigned to Atlanta, Georgia. During my first week there, I was a team leader at a week-long, overnight camp for middle school boys from Sunday to Saturday. I, along with many of the other volunteers, was excited for our first task until we remembered what middle school boys were like. It was a difficult adjustment for the other team leaders and myself to lead our ragtag band of hotheads. I quickly became frustrated with the antics and complaints from the kids. Things worsened when it began to rain heavily for hours throughout the week, the problem compounded by the fact that we were in the forest with vast patches of sand and large dirt trails alongside the need to constantly cross creeks. A week of excitement quickly turned into a mud slog.
My frustrations continued to grow during the first few days. However, on Wednesday, my perspective of the camp began to change. I noticed the sheer amount of hardship the campers were going through. Many had suffered gashes, became victim to the abundant poison ivy, or fallen with homesickness. In the constant rain, many of the campers’ clothes became soaked and had no opportunity to dry. The only form of bathing was the creek and soap anyone had brought along. The only restrooms the campers could use were two outhouses which quickly reeked to the high heavens. I quickly compared it to my situation. Even though I went through many of the same things, I also had many benefits of being a team leader. I was able to shower every night in a real bathroom, use an actual toilet, and wash my clothes in a washing machine instead of using rainwater. Even sleeping arrangements were better for me. I got to sleep in a tent with two other counselors. The campers had to sleep in large tents on an elevated wooden platform with up to eighteen cots crammed into them. I did suffer a slight mildew problem due to the constant moisture, but one of the camper tents had a huge mildew problem as there was no area to store shoes before walking to their cots, tracking water and mud everywhere inside the tents.
Previously, my mindset had been along the lines of “Why does it keep raining every time something important happens, why are there so many flies, why is it so darn cold in the mornings, why am I the one twisting their ankles seven times during a camp?” However, I began to see the difficulties of the campers which, in comparison, were much more severe than mine. In response, I did put in as much effort as possible to alleviate it. I became much more open and kind to my team and other campers. I became more engaged in the ensuing activities, upped the quality of my work when I was given a task, and I constantly sought different opportunities to help the camp. Difficulties were no longer a defining factor of the camp; rather, they were new challenges to keep us engaged and allow us to rise. Alongside my changed mindset was a dramatic improvement in my spirits. This began to rub off on my team, the other campers, and other team leaders and counselors. The camp experience began to improve for everyone.
My first assignment for the Mission Corps, though onerous, was a great success. I joined the Mission Corps hoping to help change myself for the better. I was fortunate to have an excellent start to that. It forced my perspective to widen to help me truly understand the personal experiences other people were going through. In addition to it, it shifted my mindset from doing my best to alleviate my sufferings to instead putting all of my efforts into improving the situations of others, putting my desires second. Finally, I have begun to realize that a mindset change, as simultaneously seemingly simple as it is difficult, can have a huge effect on one’s actions and the people around them. I hope to be able to implement these lessons in my daily life to continue to improve myself as well as to help others in the future.