November 2021 Blog post

(SERVICE HOURS: 2 hours creating thanksgiving cards with the class, 12 hours of work at a food bank over break)

 This month, I decided to focus my extracurricular efforts on my community service efforts. Of course, this course requirement came at the 11th hour, in true Sanjay fashion. This month, I helped the class create thanksgiving cards for underprivileged children, and decided to spend my otherwise idle thanksgiving break volunteering at a foodbank at what I was told was a "particularly busy weekend". Despite being at more of a loss than I've ever been, curriculum wise, during this class, I decided to distract myself by giving back to my original community of Edison, NJ. Spending 4 hours a day at a thanksgiving soup kitchen run by my local church, I  spent 12 hours of my break helping my community with hours that would have otherwise been spent on video games or sleep. 


This hasn't been my only mandatory "community service" hours; I've had to run 5Ks for those afflicted by irreparable brain trauma for my taekwondo school, volunteer at hospices for my liberal arts undergrad requirements, and even hold religious services for my catholic youth group, and each time, I'm reminder of a lesson I often forget - how fulfilling charity work is. Giving back to the community that raised me is always a experience that I enjoy, but I selfishly forget, choosing instead to focus on my own life and problems. I hope that when I'm settled, I stay true to my convictions and devote my time to helping people, be it medically or otherwise. 


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