I grew up in a pretty typical middle-class family with two sisters (one older, one younger), a mom, a dad, and an adorable dog. As kids growing up we were always well off but never spoiled; my mom and dad always emphasized the importance of giving back. My two sisters and I were all in Girl Scouts for nine years, doing various community service projects and working with various nonprofit organizations. Along with Girl Scouts, we also made donations from our allowances (so they were pretty small amounts considering we were all under the age of 15 at the time) every year to different organizations, such as Unicef and various local shelters. My parents also made service an important part of their lives, with my mom volunteering as a Girl Scout leader. So, I guess maybe it was inevitable that I would end up loving community service.

If you go to Menlo, you’re most likely richer than 90% of the world. Here’s another way to look at it: according to a study done in 2011, the poorest 5% of Americans are richer than 70% of the rest of the world. So basically, whether you’re considered “poor”, “middle-class”, or “rich” in America, chances are, you’re still richer than many, no matter what category you fall under.

Every freshman and sophomore at Menlo is required to complete 20 hours a year for community service, and then when you get to junior year, you begin to work on your PACT (well, hopefully that is). If you think about it, 20 hours a year is really not that much, but for some reason people always seem to dread completing this requirement. Even with the different class service days Menlo plans, people still struggle to muster up the 20 hours needed by the end of the year. As someone who loves service, I find this kind of sad. It’s sad that students in such a well off and lucky community still can’t find the time or motivation to give back. It’s sad that community service is seen as a hassle or burden, when really you get just as much out of it as the recipient of your service.

For me, community service has never felt like a chore. Again, maybe that’s just because of my upbringing, but personally I look forward to volunteering at the homeless shelter where I work. Giving back has never been about pitying the other person. I am not better than any of the people in the shelter. I think this is a misconception about service: that we are in some way superior to those we are helping, when really it could just as easily been one of us living on the streets.

For Knight School this year, I went abroad to Nicaragua for a service trip to help build a school in a rural community with an organization called Me to We. This organization believes, as I do, that volunteering is not about pitying the other people. Rather, it is a chance to teach and to learn. On our last day in the community we had been volunteering at, there was a closing ceremony where we performed a song and dance and some of the kids did dances and speeches. After the performances we got time to just play and talk with the kids. In this moment, I was able to teach the kids and they were able to teach me. I taught the kids that people care about them. They live with nothing but people care about them and their education. We were not just some ignorant Americans coming to help out some needy Nicaraguans, we came as equals. While I was teaching them, they were teaching me. These kids were some of the happiest I have ever seen, and it wasn’t because of material goods, because these kids didn’t have any. Instead, they were happy because we were making a new school, they were happy because of their tight knit community, they were happy because of their love of learning. These kids taught me more than I could ever learn by myself or from school. They taught me what’s important, and that is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life, long after thoughts of different presidents and math equations have left my head.

I realize everyone is busy, and not everyone has the time or means to go on a service trip abroad, but that doesn’t mean local community service has to be a burden either. People don’t realize that by helping others, you can start to help yourself. Volunteering, for me at least, gives me a purpose. When I go to the shelter and see the kids laughing and playing, I realize that I am needed and wanted, and this is my purpose. I love working with kids, so seeing the kids at the shelter is especially fulfilling. For other people it might be some other passion that gives them a sense of purpose: sports, Mock Trial, school. But, whatever your passion, try to find a reason to give back. Maybe it’s teaching sports to disabled kids, or using your interest in justice to fight for different social causes, or maybe it’s just doing lots of community service to increase your chances of getting into your dream college. Community service doesn’t have to be a one-way relationship. You can get just as much out of volunteering as those you are helping, you just have to drop the idea that you are better and be willing to receive help in return.