One way to give back to one’s community is through community service. It’s not just about giving back to the community; it’s also about assisting people in acquiring lifelong skills. By spending my time and effort, I felt empathy and a sense of success through community service. Participating in these activities as a volunteer roots you, helps you appreciate your environment and everything you have easy access to. One can also gain insight from those who are less fortunate. Overall, community service offers the most effective way to develop one’s character, which is precisely what our school emphasizes on in addition to helping students grow mentally. I was one of the volunteers for dance where my team and I choreographed dances on multiple songs to teach the children.

1. LO4

community service lasted for three weekends, where we volunteers had to come every saturday and sunday for three consecutive weeks and teach dance to the kids. For us students, the weekend is a much-needed vacation from a demanding week that allows us to unwind and enjoy some alone time. Attending class even during those trying times was undoubtedly difficult. This required a great deal of dedication to the assignment, and even though it was difficult at times, I managed to come every weekend, demonstrating my commitment. The children would occasionally become irritable, cry, or refuse to cooperate with us. It would be extremely difficult to converse because the language the kids were comfortable in was one i didn’t know fluently. however it was the end goal to have them leave with a dance lesson or some fun memories at least and so to be patient with them was a challenge which is where staying committed helps. Personally, I’ve never been good at sticking with things. Once I stop enjoying something or if it starts to feel a tad uncomfortable, I stop doing it. I frequently wonder how to commit to things, and I’ve learnt the hard way that the real question is why are you committing to it in the first place, which inevitably answers the how. Like I said previously, we can learn a thing or two from these kids, especially because many of them are non dancers but still show a commitment to the process by persevering until they succeed. Many people were uncomfortable participating in this activity, and dance wasn’t their strong suit and yet Many people continued to visit every weekend, and this showed me that if they could do it, I could too.

1. LO5

I’m a naturally collaborative person, so working in a group comes effortlessly to me. As a result of my lack of confidence in others to perform tasks perfectly and on time, I frequently take the initiative and manage the group. Although doing so ensures that the assignment is completed on time and well, this practice is unhealthy, and developing it into a habit would not benefit me. To actually be able to “collaborate,” I believe I must learn to respect other people’s opinions and to trust them with the task.

During this particular activity, it was a little difficult for me to work in a team. Since I was a volunteer I did not exactly get to lead the team however I got it to sit back and think like a teammate and I learned how to be patient with everyone and how to respect opinions of every single individual. At times, everyone had different opinions about what steps to do and what looks good or not which was conflicting, however I learned that trusting others with tasks can lead to good results, like it did in community service since the sector of dance at least was a huge success with a lot of smiling faces in sight. 

As there were many children, we had to divide into groups and teach a few of them at a time. To ensure that we all did this collaboratively was crucial; otherwise, the dance as a whole would suffer. Because we will encounter all types of people throughout our lives and occasionally have to deal with people we find challenging, social skills are a crucial component of key life skills. The best way to deal with conflicts is to communicate and be patient. As I work on projects in the future, either as a leader or team member, I should be able to respect others’ viewpoints, trust my team while equally participating in the process.