Before I entered the Boys and Girls Club, I was filled with a sense of apprehension. Community service had always been an integral part of my life, but this time, I had been tasked with a different kind of assignment. I was to go into this organization, find a problem, and implement a solution for it. My previous service experiences had been rather clear-cut. I volunteered my time to lend a helping hand in any capacity that I was needed, but I was not able to dictate the direction of my service, per se. My professor had essentially flipped the script on me, and I felt like a fish out of water.
I suppose my biggest fear was simply the thought of failure. It was easy to volunteer. In many ways, it is a passive activity. I was now required to take an active role in my service organization, and the responsibility lay on my shoulders. I need to distinguish the type of failure that I feared though. Although I was going to receive a grade for this service project, I was not worried about personal failure. In fact, the idea of this being an assignment for a class was inconsequential to me. I did not want to fail the organization and the people within it.
At the time, I thought that the type of impact that my professor wanted us to make within the Boys and Girls Club was not something that was possible, especially for an inexperienced college student. I wanted to make a real difference in the organization and spent my time with my head in the clouds. I wanted to bring about definitive change immediately, and I was scared that I would not be able to deliver it.
I suppose that I had been a bit misguided. I was so lost in all of the possibilities of what I wanted to do that I was blinded to the reality of what I should do. I was not tasked with solving every problem that the Boys and Girls Club faced. The difference that I wanted to make didn’t need to be so monumental. In fact, it is on the most personal of levels that we truly bring about the most benefit. In hindsight, I should have known that every journey, no matter how long, begins with a few small steps.
-- Rahul Annabathula
I suppose my biggest fear was simply the thought of failure. It was easy to volunteer. In many ways, it is a passive activity. I was now required to take an active role in my service organization, and the responsibility lay on my shoulders. I need to distinguish the type of failure that I feared though. Although I was going to receive a grade for this service project, I was not worried about personal failure. In fact, the idea of this being an assignment for a class was inconsequential to me. I did not want to fail the organization and the people within it.
At the time, I thought that the type of impact that my professor wanted us to make within the Boys and Girls Club was not something that was possible, especially for an inexperienced college student. I wanted to make a real difference in the organization and spent my time with my head in the clouds. I wanted to bring about definitive change immediately, and I was scared that I would not be able to deliver it.
I suppose that I had been a bit misguided. I was so lost in all of the possibilities of what I wanted to do that I was blinded to the reality of what I should do. I was not tasked with solving every problem that the Boys and Girls Club faced. The difference that I wanted to make didn’t need to be so monumental. In fact, it is on the most personal of levels that we truly bring about the most benefit. In hindsight, I should have known that every journey, no matter how long, begins with a few small steps.
-- Rahul Annabathula