By Theone Ian Tiu (Grade 9 – Mendeleev)
I have been very blessed my whole life. Fortunately, almost everything was convenient for me. I was able to live a very comfortable life not having to worry about tomorrow. I always had food to eat; I always had a bed to sleep in; I always had clothes to wear, and I was able to afford education. I wanted to do something to at least give back these blessings that I have received, so I wanted to volunteer to help the less fortunate people. Thankfully, ISA has made that possible by giving me so many chances to do so.
My first encounter with volunteering was in Grade 6 where we went to the SOS Children’s Village. I didn’t know what to expect, and I was also a bit scared as I didn’t know how to interact with kids. Each one of us was paired with a kid, so I had no choice but to bond with her. At first, it was a bit awkward, but after we played games and talked more, we started to get comfortable with each other. At the end of the day, we were required to bring some toys and books to give to the kids. Seeing them so happy with it touched my heart because I never realized I could make someone as happy as they were.
The second one I participated in was every time that we would be required to give a certain amount of goods to our advisers. It seems like it is such a small thing, but every time I give the goods to my adviser and see the other piled up ones of my classmates’, I feel so happy knowing that I could at least help someone if just one person with this gesture.
One of the latest ones that I participated in was a tie-dye event arranged by the learners’ council. It was a very successful event, and I was so happy to contribute even just a little fraction of the money donated. I know I didn’t do much, but the feeling of giving an effort to extend a hand to someone is just unexplainable. It’s no doubt that everybody was having a hard time during the pandemic, but there are people who had to go through other things just to survive this unfortunate event, and I’m really happy to be at least part of a fraction that helped someone’s life even just a tiny bit.
I am really thankful that I have the opportunities to be able to share my blessings with others. Volunteering to me wasn’t something I expected to do, but I am grateful that ISA allowed me to experience this one-of-a-kind feeling of helping people. I hope that I can help more people in the future because if we help each other out, then the world might not be a bad place after all.