Class 1

Prompt:
Why did we choose to start a class about Fraternal Change with a service project, and what did you learn about yourself and your peers as a result of our shared experiences today?

Community service brings people together. Something about helping those in need, or just doing something for the community, make people feel good. It gives purpose to our lives in a world when everyone is wondering, "Why am I here?" There is no possible way that helping others can make you feel selfish and useless. And when people are in a giving mood they are friendly, they bond, they Facebook each other later, the buds of friendship sprout. It's usually an all-around good experience. I'm sure it is a pillar of most of our sororities and fraternities, and even if it isn't necessarily a pillar, it is probably something each chapter often practices. Community service is an excellent way to remember why we're here, what we can do, and how every little bit - even just making sandwiches - really does count. We fed people who wouldn't have had food otherwise, and that makes your heart glow a little, doesn't it? You really made a difference in someone's life, even if just for the 2 minutes it took them to consume the PB&J. To start off with a community service project seems appropriate. We are here to create change. That change has to start small, and then grow with time. Last Friday, we changed people's lives by putting food in their stomachs. We know that we are able to help out. This project brought us together and reinforced our states of mind.

What did I learn about my peers? About you guys? I did not hear a single grumble or mumble when we were asked to help make the sandwiches. No one said anything negative about being coerced into food preparation and impromptu presentations. Everyone was willing, able, and joyfully went to work. This shows me how selfless we all truly are. Okay, maybe not no one is COMPLETELY selfless, but we were all more than willing to help out. I want to go as far as to say we were excited to help out. When everyone is willing to come together, work as a group, talk to strangers, and then maybe become friends with those strangers, it really shows something promising to me. We're all here for a reason. Maybe not everyone has the same reason, but in the end, we're all willing. And I think that makes for great group dynamics. In a room full of people that care about doing the right thing, I really think we can accomplish a lot, even if that is just making 300 sandwiches every single week.

Here are some quotes from people that have made an impact on the world. Whether it be in writing or in actions, these are people to whom history's ears have always been open, as should ours be.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
-Anne Frank

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.
-Mother Teresa

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.
-Edward Everett Hale

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
-Mother Teresa

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
-Martin Luther King, Jr.