Service Day

Today was service day and all of the Discover classes are required to do some form of community service on this day. We all met up in the Church and listened to the school president and other people about why service is such a big thing at DePaul and that you must goals for yourself. Afterwards, we went to our classroom and had lunch.

Then we took the L and the bus to the Chicago River Walk. We were handed trash bags and were told to pick up trash up and down the river walk. We gathered up a lot of strange things of the river walk. There was a pillow, a switch blade, a dull knife, etc. After we made our rounds, we went to the Picasso statue by the Daley Center to have our reflection.

When we had our reflection, it was very insightful but kind of mean in a way. Ed explained to us about why he quit his 6 figure job just to go into teaching. He did this because he made a promise to give back to the community. I completely agree because in the end we all have to give a little something back. However, I do not agree with Amanda's viewpoint that we are all self-centered.

I am a first-generation Filipino-American. Both of my parents grew up in very poor areas of the Philippines. Some of them had to walk 5-8 miles just to get to school on foot with just slippers! They both had a desire to get an education and come to America. Their dreams came true and here I am. I consider myself to be EXTREMELY lucky to not go through the hardships that they had to go through. Ten years ago, my family went to the Philippines. I myself saw poverty first-hand by living in my mom's family home. They do not have the luxuries that we in the America take for granted. It was a big wake-up call for me that there are people out there less fortunate than me. Also a difference is that they did not get an education or just barely. This made me value education as the most important thing to possess. That is why I chose DePaul. This experience has made me be grateful that I was born in America and not there.
 
During my last three years of high school, my school had laptops. I worked on the student tech team and helped provide tech support for the students and help maintain the laptops and the entire school's network. This helped me be more attached to a community and that I always help others with their tech problems while not just focusing on myself.  I am sure there are other stories like mine in our class and that the other people are not "self-centered."