Service Learning

By Student Blogger: Sarah from South Korea

One of the biggest differences between American and Asian schools is the requirement of service. Having been to American schools for many years, I am aware of the obligatory service hours that are to be fulfilled throughout the school year. However, back in Korea, even if my school was officially an international American school, none of the students were required to do any service. No matter what the circumstances may be, service is a rewarding, and a worthwhile recreation.

From being part of the National Honors Society and Christian Action Program, I am
required to do almost the double amount of service per quarter than most average students. Over time, I have engaged myself in a variety of services such as raking leaves at a cemetery, selling tickets outside for eight hours, distributing food for homeless people, or even distributing clothes for veterans. Name any service you could think of, I have probably done it.

One of the services I completed for the first quarter was free face painting for children at a Church festival. My first customer was a cute little girl who wanted a Hello Kitty drawn on her cheek. I tried the best I could to draw a fairly pale-faced kitten with a black outline and whiskers. I thought I absolutely failed, but the girl liked it; which was the sole objective for my amateur art.

The surprising thing was that more people kept coming. For some of those people, I drew flowers, and spider webs on their left cheeks. It was such a fun, and an easy move to make someone’s day.

Try to do as many services as you can not just for school, but for yourself. It may feel like
a nuisance at times to lose a few hours of sleep on a weekend to do so; yet, I have never done a single service in my life that I regret doing. All the experiences of meeting different kinds of people and helping them out will shape you into a more well-rounded person. In the end, don’t we all know that life experiences are all that count? My dad was probably right, “What a price we pay for experience, when we must sell our youth to buy it.”