Volunteer Work. For some this is considered a drag of an obligation needed to be completed as a prerequisite for a high school diploma, a National Honors Society, etc. Others use it to repent for their past mistakes or crimes. Then there are those that do it because it's their way of giving back. Feeling a sense of community and true goodness of the soul that comes with a day of community service. Tomorrow marks a day that is very near and dear to me: TAG Day. A day in which volunteers (of which this will be my 4th year volunteering), take on the streets of our great community to collect money all going towards the seemingly endless search for the cure to ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
I started volunteering for this program through my middle school's "Student Ambassador" program, and then once I entered high school, I didn't want to stop. It's a wonderful cause, and believe it or not - besides the fact that I'm asking people for money - I really have fun doing it. I have never known anyone to contract this vicious disease *knocks on wood*, however, I am all too familiar with the enormous stress a seemingly incurable ailment or disease can cause a family. If we can spare just one family from going through that with the donations we collect, it will all be so incredibly worth it. However, the amazing cause is not the only thing that makes this day so dear to me.
A year ago tomorrow also marks what I would consider one of the best days of my freshman year. I was partnered with one of my very best friends, and one of the most amazing people ever, Stephanie to ask for donations outside a local bank. For those of you unfamiliar with volunteer work of this sort, it's basically standing around - usually in the cold and rain - waiting for someone to come around to ask for donations from...for two hours. However, when the bank closed with a half hour left to go in our shift...not a lot of people were coming around to collect from. So we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves. This ended up including using the change in our buckets to create a beat to our very dramatic and wonderful performance of "Hey Jude" in an attempt to attract people to come over to the closed bank/to entertain ourselves. I also heard the best quote I think I've ever experienced in my life that day: "Hello sir, would you like to donate to Lou Gehrig's Disease?" "Oh yes, you know I had a friend die of AIDS."
Later that day included a trip to an amazing restaurant, getting crazy dressed up to go to my cousin's birthday party, and planning the most impromptu and extremely random trip to Iowa, of which ended up being basically the greatest trip of my life. So to sum that all up, one of the best days of last year. This makes going into tomorrow difficult, because now that Stephanie has moved across the country and I am volunteering all by myself, I know that this year won't be able to live up to last year. But I am a big believer in the unexpected being fantastic. A tragic earthquake in Japan destroyed our spring break plans, I had the most incredible trip planned in 5 days in Spain and Italy. We were to go to a super fancy restaurant for my Mom's birthday, their power was out, so we went to the closest half-way decent looking restaurant around, and it ended up being one of our absolute new favorite meals. You never know what may happen to make something great.
I can't relive the past, no matter what I do. But I will go into tomorrow excited to make a difference in the world, however small it may be, and see what happens. It might become one of the best days of this year. The unexpected and unpredicted always shocks me at how wonderful the results often are.
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