I have frequently been asked why I find volunteering so important and why I´ve made it such a huge part of my life. Most people expect me to give them a short answer, something along the lines of  “I do it because it makes me feel good”. Certainly, none of them expect me to look at them with bright eyes and a wide smile saying “Where do I begin?” At this point many people run away terrified thinking that I’m about to deliver a life-long speech full of boring statistics. Well, just kidding. However, for brevity´s sake and in order to keep you interested, I´ll sum everything up in just three words: oneself, people and world.

Before I explain such choice of words, let´s state what is volunteering, indeed. As a future psychologist I´m extremely fond of experiments, so let´s carry one out. Say Volunteering aloud and ask the person next to you what is the first image or word that comes to their minds. You will find, as I did, that most people think about spending a month abroad helping out in a big natural catastrophe or fighting against one of the Big Problems of Humankind (war, hunger…). However, volunteering can also mean giving some hours of your time and taking action in your own city. Isn´t it fantastic? And incredibly cheaper, let me tell you. You can even be a volunteer in your own home trying to be more helpful, kind and loving, because in the end that´s what volunteering is about. Anyway, in some respects dedicating some hours of your week throughout a year is even better than attending a work camp or other volunteering program. This is mainly because it is important to recognize volunteering as a part of your life. This way you´ll be able to fit the precious knowledge you´re obtaining into your daily life. When one goes away to volunteer he or she is at risk of considering the experience as something isolated from their lives, in other words, something that cannot, in anyway, be brought into their lives.

Oneself

I have myself been a volunteer since I was 16. Countless are the hours I spent with children, immigrants and other groups. I faced some difficult moments, but also some of my most beautiful and precious memories are linked to volunteering and I will be forever grateful for these experiences. Volunteering has made me, in fact, who I am today. Now, let´s get down to those words. First of all, “oneself”. Something extremely important about volunteering is the fact that it enables you to view life from another perspective, to walk in another´s shoes. This is an enriching experience, as it is a way to encounter other situations, to see through another person´s eyes. Sometimes we tend to live in our own bubble, without getting close to any problems but the ones of our family and friends. Besides, we go through life on autopilot, but one cannot help someone, and do so the best of one´s ability, half conscious, that is, without concentrating fully on the task ahead: you have to be wide awake; you have to put your whole mind to it. Moreover, most of what you´ll learn by volunteering will go more than skin-deep and will certainly keep life interesting. Suffice is to say that what you´ll learn might also prove to be very useful in your future/current career. I can´t help but quote the lyrics from a song by Bob Dylan:

You say you´d never compromise

With the mystery tramp, but now you realise

He´s not selling any alibis

As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes

People

With the second word, “people”, I refer to all the people you meet when you volunteer; not only the people you help but also the other helpers. People with whom you are sharing a moment of your life, who are doing the same thing you are, and who may have different reasons than you to volunteer. I assure you there is an unimaginable amount of things to learn from this people, so keep your ears open! In addition, getting to know someone through volunteering is vastly different than getting to know someone at a party, in the workplace or in the classroom. Two people, volunteers, that are working for the same cause, both of whom have their hearts and their minds set on doing the task the best they can, who are bent on doing it right and, most importantly, on cooperating, form a very meaningful and deep connection.

World

Last but not least, “world”. This is a pretty personal motivation, but I hope it applies to you as well. So let´s be honest: the world is in a chaos in this century; we are cruel, self-centered, selfish, vain and greedy beings. However, for me, if there´s something that makes us worthy, something that erases all of the above, is our capacity to give other resources (money, effort, time, even life) to other beings and to do so freely, willingly and without demanding anything in return. This selflessness that we are capable of is what makes Humankind truly admirable. That, and our capacity to produce delicious chocolate, but that´s quite another story. I know that giving away some hours of your week won´t stop wars or rape, nor will it reforest the Amazon or wipe clean all the bloodshed throughout History, but it will make a difference.

Volunteering is, if you will, a movement, a movement of people who refuse to be passive machines and decide instead to take action. A movement of people fixated on an idea: making this world a little better. I am not saying we can transform the chaos into an utopia, but as one Beatles´ song goes:

I’ve got to admit, it’s getting better,

A little better all the time

Spoiler alert: you won´t be given money, and if you are I suggest you to refuse it. I have to admit I´ve been offered pastry and I did accept, but that´s also another story for a more appropriate moment. Your reward will be a priceless one, much more important than anything material, for what fuels volunteering is not something as banal or futile as money, or food for that matter. When you volunteer you feel a satisfaction that nothing else can bring, and you obtain a knowledge that no words in a book or sentences uttered in a class can grasp. It is the kind of knowledge shared by the whole Humankind, the kind of knowledge that doesn´t perish. It is the kind of knowledge that makes you, somehow, more human.

Written by María Eugenia Casariego Artola, AEGEE-Oviedo