There are approximately 45 weeks left of my Dartmouth experience. That is roughly 315 days, 7,560 hours, 453,600 minutes or 27,216,000 seconds. Something to that effect -- I am not great with math. But the point is that I have this time, and that with my time, I can choose to do many things: I can choose to study biology or learn about sculpture; I can choose to eat lunch with friends or answer calls to the local domestic violence hotline; I can choose to value people or believe that I am in some way better or smarter than those around me; I can choose to feel cheerful or be snippy. This list could take the rest of this article, and this paper and every issue of The Dartmouth that is published from now and for the next 315 days until I graduate. And it still wouldn't be done.
The point is that these choices exist. That here at Dartmouth I have an infinite number of choices to fill the finite amount of time I spend here. So, the question becomes, why, when evaluating all of the options, have I chosen to do community service? One reason is to repay the blessings and gifts that I have been given by innumerable people who touch my life every day, whether or not I know their names, or even notice their presence. Many people gave of themselves to give me the choices I have. My success is part of a larger community, and my life is inextricably intertwined with those around me.
But, even if I had no debts to repay, I know that my service helps women trapped in violent relationships to take control of their lives and encourages my "little sister" to aspire to do well in school and believe that people really care. I enjoy helping people and they help me. It is often challenging to remember at Dartmouth that there is a world beyond your next exam, being accepted to graduate school and finding a high-paying job through corporate recruiting. Community service never lets you forget that there are people who have real struggles and takes you on an educational experience that is unparalleled in any Dartmouth classroom.
This is not to say that I believe that community service has to be a planned or organized event, at Tucker or elsewhere. To me, community service is as simple as making an extra effort to be nice or polite to someone. For the next 315 days, I have the opportunity to live in a microcosm of a world filled with diverse and interesting people, and I don't just mean students. When was the last time you spoke to your custodian? They are interesting -- at least the ones on the first floor of Smith are, and I promise you that when you take the time to talk to them you will both brighten their day and learn something as well. Communities can be built or fall on whether the people in them take the extra time it takes to hold the door for the person behind them at the Hop, or talk to the fascinating person who serves tea in Sanborn, or make the effort to do something to make the college better than when they started their DOC trip.
Serving your community, in whatever way you choose, is one of the most rewarding and necessary things a person can do. It is your chance to make sure that each of your 27,216,000 seconds at Dartmouth makes a difference, and that other people are given the help and encouragement you had. So spend your time wisely, for unlike money, when you spend all of your time, there will never be anymore. The number of seconds you have in college, and indeed in life, is numbered. As you read this article the numbers are growing smaller. I hope every day that the seconds I have to spend will change the lives of myself and those around me. That is why I choose to do community service.
