The Best Way to Find Yourself…

At W&M we talk a lot about service and depending on who you ask or when you ask the definition will be very different — and that is great.  Oftentimes ambiguity leads to frustration.  In this case the ambiguity associated with service leads to new ways of thinking, reflecting and responding.

Just about everyone gets involved in service initially out of a requirement or an obligation.  Most high school students volunteer as part of a class assignment.  We all start volunteering because we are told to do so because it is the right thing to do.  For many there is a turning point or a light bulb moment that ignites a different interest in volunteering.  When a person makes a connection with another person whom they otherwise might perceive as different, the relationships in service change.  It is in this moment that service starts to evolve from a have to (obligation) to a want to (personal interest).  I love to hear “light bulb moment” stories.  They occur at soup kitchens, on work sites, in hospital rooms, in another country or while tutoring and while the place changes the insights are similar.  Students report:

“For the first time I saw similarity and not difference.”

“I realized that I can learn so much about the world.”

“It turns out I get more than what I am supposedly giving.”

These personal reflections are the first step in the engagement journey that for many ultimately leads to a sense of purpose (personally and academically).  This heightened interest and evolving motivation carries with it a new interest in coursework aimed at considering the social concerns that make the service involvement necessary.

At W&M we have volunteers, coaches, tutors, activists, advocates, researchers, servant leaders, engaged scholars, engaged citizens and social innovators.  We have idealism, pragmatism and skepticism.  We have hope and action and concern and frustration.  Students approach service from so many perspectives.  The entry point is generally through the same door – a light bulb moment- the path that is then taken is as varied as our imaginations can take us.  As ghandi realized, “The best way to find yourself…is to lose yourself in service to others.”