To the People That Gave Me the BC Look Away in Mac Last Semester,
This letter isn’t meant to come off as hostile. I understand your perspective. I really do. We as BC students are constantly swamped with academic work, extracurricular commitments, family commitments and so on. It’s so much easier to walk by the group of our peers sitting in the dining hall asking us to donate. It’s easy to close our ears to the sounds of anything that does not immediately benefit us. There are just not enough hours of the day or swipes on our Eagle IDs to stop and listen to every single spiel about service trips. At least that’s what we tell ourselves as we avert our gazes and continue about our days.
In all honesty, I have told myself the same rhetoric and skillfully dodged all questions like “Would you like to donate to our service trip?!” with a forceful but polite “No, thank you” many times. My phone conveniently becomes very interesting as I walk away. That was until I had to do a point drive for my service trip to Jamaica and was forced to view things from my peers’ perspective. Participating in service trips is a lot more work than students get credit for, yet it is very common place at BC compared to at other universities. You have to attend meetings weekly, learn about the country and environment you’re about to enter into, and raise money independently and as a group. So why do we do it? Why do we take the time to apply and participate on service trips on top of the many responsibilities a BC eagle has?
I can’t speak for anyone except for myself but going to Kingston with Jamaica Magis seemed like a natural next step in my BC career. After months of being force fed Ignatian values about being “men and women for others” and “setting the world aflame,” I wanted to challenge myself to live up to the words of St. Ignatius. What I gained in return for giving myself fully into the Magis experience was an amazing set of deepened relationships with my Magis family. I gained a better understanding of what it means to be happy and live my own truth. I experienced unconditional love from the 48 second graders that I worked with who poured the hearts out to me and called me Auntie Paula every day. However, I also gained an appreciation for where every cent went during our trip—whether it was to provide school supplies for the students or just give them a day to be kids despite all of the death and other traumatic events they face in Kingston. Every cent mattered.
So next time you hear that oh so familiar question “Would you like to donate to our service trip?” forget about the overpriced burger that is calling your name and think about the impact your $5 or $50 will have. In the long run, it will make something your peers truly believe in closer to becoming a reality. Don’t underestimate your impact because there are those that give by going and others that go by giving.
Sincerely,
That Random Girl Who Went on A Service Trip
Photo Sources:
BC Campus Ministry