There are a couple of skills that I believe that I possess that will greatly help me in social activism. The first skill is my love of speaking. I believe myself to be a good speaker, so I am not afraid to speak with someone in fear that I will not be understood. I think that I communicate what I need to say so I think that is definitely one of my greater skills. A skill that I think I am currently working on is my leadership skill. I have not had much experience being a leader of a group, I usually like to kick back and be told what it is I need to do. I am currently learning that while leadership can be very difficult, it is also very fulfilling. I feel like I am truly making a bigger difference this time around in my SLICE experience, than I did last year. I know that being a leader has helped me to step out of my shell, so hopefully I will not be nervous when I work with the teens in San Diego.
Image from fatihtepe.com/
3 comments:
Love the picture with the penguins!
I share the feeling you have about you parents. Mine have always worked crazy hours too. Especially my dad, so the only community things he got involved with were usually at our church. And I also know they are proud of me for choosing to participate in SLICE.
To all the other people you mentioned: We will be doing great things in our team so we will get to show them what they missed out on!
Let us not forget that providing support for your family, both financial and emotional/moral, is an act of service in and of itself!
I like your recognition of the personal benefits of service, as I think this is an important facet that deserves more attention. Rather than fight the current trends of self-interest, we can employ those trends to help us transition into a more aware, active society.
Also, I would caution that we must be careful with being exclusive. After all, how can someone become aware and active if no one ever presents the option? Although in the face of so much suffering it can be easy to become somewhat unsatisfied with the apparent non-interest of others, we must strive to maintain an open heart and mind and try to make connections with these folks. The cynicism that Loeb warns of can easily transfer to the other side! So I definitely relate to the non-affective side of your statement, that is, not letting the judgments or criticisms of others deter us from our chosen path. But at the same time, if we can somehow make a connection with these people and perhaps put them on a new path, how great would that be?
After all, we do not want to become "social activism elitists," right? ;)
My parents worked a lot when I grew up but I think I got my love for service from them. I can remember when I was little going to feed the homeless at soup kitchens and helping to clean shelters. Even though they were tired or extremely busy, they always committed to service each month and we were all required to attend. I guess that why I do a million service projects every year. So... you like to talk???
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