My experience serving in the community taught me all about selflessness, and that service really doesn’t need to be driven by the need of self-fulfillment. True service is done out of the spirit of love for the recipient. It’s not about anything else other than that, and I’ve found that applies to the service opportunity each person has in everyday life. If there’s a genuine motive behind a word of encouragement to someone struggling, or even just taking the time to understand the weird kid who no one else would ever get over the awkwardness to talk to. Service is the best when it’s not forced. Leading up to high school, a lot of the service I did was for a requirement, whether it was to fulfill National Junior Honors Society requirements or even just to get involved in order to feel more religious. My experience with service as I’ve matured in high school taught me that there’s so many organizations to get involved with based off of missions associated with my existing passions. For example, I love working out, so I decided that Habitat for Humanity would be a suitable opportunity to use my physical strength. Service really has been an extension of my educational experience. The cultural perspective I’ve gained from my involvement in service is incredible. I’m truly blessed to have connected with such a wide range of individuals. Interaction with others is really the basis of the high school experience, and the connections I’ve built with specifically the African babies and family moving into the Habitat for Humanity house was so surreal. Service provides students with lessons that can only be felt outside of the specific community. We realize through service that all that we are no different from the individuals that the customary local community may label as inferior. The combination of humility and reward felt from service is indescribable. It’s been a significant aspect of my time in high school.