By: Emily Chisum
1. Impressions Left on Elementary Students
One of my favorite events so far in Asheville has been visiting Sand Hill Elementary school at their after school program sponsored by the YMCA. We were able to help educate the elementary students about healthy eating habits and the importance of a balanced diet. For their snack, they received pretzels, oranges, cheese, snap peas, carrots, and other healthy foods. While we were serving, we really tried to make the kids excited about the foods they were eating, like the peas and carrots, even though they aren’t always a top choice for a snack for kids. What was interesting to me about the situation was that because we were excited about the fresh food, the kids were also excited. They never complained about wanting a less healthy option, and they sometimes even requested more of the peas or carrots.
This experience really showed me that one, the kids have been educated about healthy eating habits before, which had a role in the kids enjoying the food, but it also showed me that kids look up to people who are older. If you are excited about something, the kids will feed off of that as well and be more engaged to participate in the activity.
2. Appreciation of Service
3. Finding a True Passion
One of the most impactful things to me so far on this trip has been listening to our community partner leaders and their stories about how they decided to pursue careers that have direct contact with community service and outreach activities. Each person we have talked to has shown genuine passion for impacting the community. One of them even discussed how they don’t get paid very much for their job, but the experience and the benefits the community receives makes everything worthwhile to them. It reminded me how important it is to find something you are actually passionate about, no matter what kind of benefits you might get or how much money you might make. Finding a passion helps bring more out of you as a person. I think you can make much more of a lasting impact on someone or something if you are excited to do it.