Monday, May 26, 2014

Defying Gravity - The truth about volunteering and EVS

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal"*



Things that we think that we do for others offer end up being things that we do for ourselves, and volunteering might just be one of those things.

Everyone seems so grateful and impressed with our work as volunteers, but they can’t even being to understand how much these experiences do for us too. There are so many things I never thought I would do… even less enjoy, and yet here we are. The experiences, the challenges, the opportunities to face our fears and succeed… being able to learn through life experiences what can’t be taught in books.

Seeing how others live, observing the differences, take what’s best from each environment and learn to understand the worst. Learn to look for the story before jumping in with judgmental comments.
The chance to develop your skills, find new talents and be appreciated for doing what you like. Feel the gratitude and allow it to feed your dreams of doing something bigger.

People don’t understand why someone would work for free, but that’s only because they can’t see that rewards don’t always come in the form of money. We’re getting something in return, in fact, we’re getting so much in return that often I wonder who’s benefiting more with this project. I don’t work for free, I work for the learning and the challenge, the adventures and the smiles, I work for the chance to make a difference.

You learn to learn. To pay attention, to participate, not because they made you, but because you want to be more, to evolve.

There’s so much to be explored, and sometimes you just need the time and tools to do it. You learn to be responsible for your own path, or at least you should. It doesn’t matter if it’s always fair, if you work harder, if you give more, because at the end of the day it all depends on what your goals are. You give as much as you want based on what you want to achieve.

Some people claim they don’t like to think, but to me, reflecting about what we’re doing and where we’re going helps me to focus, to keep motivated.

There are so many different stories, different people, different backgrounds, different experiences and expectations, and by talking and sharing we may discover different perspectives and reasonings.
“What’s the meaning of EVS?” they ask, and I don’t really think there’s one answer to that question. I think EVS means a lot of different things, and what really matters is what it means for you now, when you are living it.

People will see your EVS differently, depending on their knowledge and their perspectives, and that’s alright. The important thing is that you keep true to yourself and don’t forget your goals.

There’s so much I’ve achieved with EVS so far, and sometimes it’s hard to believe that you’ll keep changing, but I don’t want the progression to be over. We’re halfway there and though I feel I’ve accomplished a lot so far, I still want more. I will always want more.

I’m learning how to be proud of myself… I never really felt I deserved all the credit for my Au Pair year. It was, without a doubt, the best experience of my life, but it all started because I was too scared and had to run away. It worked out great, but in a way I was choosing the easiest road. With EVS is different, I didn’t have to put myself through this, I had other options, I had safer options, and yet here I am, because I wanted to go further, because no matter how much I hate to leave my comfort zone, what I hate even more is to feel stale, to feel that I’m not learning, that I’m not doing something for people, for myself.

I keep looking for something I’m not quite sure what it is, but along the way I found a way to make the journey more interesting and memorable.


*Albert Pine Quoted Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon In  Criminal Minds S01E02 

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