Service Learning

Service learning is a great experience for a college student’s life. It is about learning to help others, to care for others, to understand others. It is in many ways an act of kindness and giving to the community. As a service learner you get the opportunity to experience a different side of life. Another workplace other than the one you are accustomed to. It opens up your mind and opens doors to you that had once been closed. It brings you new ideas and new challenges. Volunteer work is always beneficial in one way or another while in college and even outside of college. It teaches you to value the art of giving and teamwork and how you can make a difference when you help another person. As a college student service learning is important to participate in because you give to the community, gain knowledge on the type of work you are helping in and learn to work well with others. Surely service learning is a great experience, it takes you out of your shell. Nowadays we do not tend to see too much volunteer work being done. Imagine just going out of your daily routine to help and contribute to another person, workplace or institution and not getting pay to do so. It is truly a generous act and nontheless a kind thing to do. It makes you feel more human, it makes you feel like you are doing this voluntarily out of the goodness in you and not just because you have to get paid. It is unlike the daily routine of having to clock in at work in order to get money. It reminds you that life does not always have to be the same routine but that you can and should pause to take time and help another person who may be in need.

Invisible Cities

In selections from Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, Calvino writes seven stories of seven cities and describes each of them allegorically. In class we discussed all seven cities. My group had the last city described in the selections the name of the city was Olinda. I really enjoyed all the cities but there was something deep about Olinda, there's a sense of growth. See, at the beginning Olinda is nothing but a miniscule city so small that you can only see it with a magnifying glass. The author likens it to a point no bigger than the head of  a pin. But what I find most interesting about it is that that point or Olinda does not remain there, because each year she grows and grows and continues to expand. This is interesting because it is what we do in life we have to go through a process in which we can grow and expand our horizon, our own personal growth as an individual and even our outlook in life, in order to be able to offer the ones we love and other people fruits from our tree. 

"Salvation" By Langston Hughes

In "Salvation" Langston Hughes tells of himself as a little boy and the choice he made at a church revival. Reflecting mans instinctive behavioral tendencies for obedience. Young Langston whose congregation wants him to be saved, gives into obedience and goes up to the altar pretending that he has seen or felt the light of the Holy Spirit. He was a young boy who wanted to see Jesus, who wanted to earn His salvation, but when he couldn't see Jesus, and everyone else already had, he found himself in the terrible position of disappointing not only himself but everyone in his community. He finally "saved" himself by pretending to see Jesus . He was not saved honestly or by love of Jesus as a congregation or preacher intended but by pretending to be other than who he was. One wonders what would have happened if he hadn't stepped forward? Would they have seen a frightened boy? It is hard to say. However, it is obvious that he was afraid to be rejected and to dissapoint the congregation; therefore, he falls into the trap of trying to please everyone. In addition, he meets the needs of no one since he deceived everybody in church and himself as well. Hughes wasn't ready to put his trust in God. He didn't let God's will be done upon him. Even if he was kneeling down he was not entirely humbling himself to God. As a result, he couldn't bear to tell his aunt that he had lied about Jesus and now he didn't believe Jesus existed because he did not go to his rescue.