Times I Have Felt Alive Harold Thomas says, “Do not ask what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive (Thurman).” Throughout my service experiences there have been several times when I have felt “alive.” One of those times was during some of my first service experiences, which was when I was a freshman in high school. I was volunteering with the preparations for an annual children’s Christmas party, held by an organization at my mom’s work. The organization had been having the parties for many years but, since I was no longer young enough to receive a gift, I started helping prepare for the party and with clean up. The preparations included going to the store to pick out the presents for the kids, which takes place a few weeks before the party. Then the gifts are wrapped and separated by age, which normally ranges from six months to twelve years old, and there are usually anywhere from fifty to one hundred kids and families that attend the party. Finally, on the day of the party, we organize the gifts by age, going from youngest to oldest in the front of the church, and set up all the food and drinks. Then, during the party, I help hand the gifts to the stage, where they call the kids names and they can come up to get their gift and see Santa Claus. A time during this service when I felt joyful was after the kids had received their gifts and opened them, and were playing with them. This moment is when you know all the work in preparation for the party was worth it because you can feel the happiness and joy in the room, which feels like the “Christmas spirit.” I think this particular service experience made me feel this way because, it was one of my first service experiences, and I got to see the effect of the work we did to prepare for the party. Another time when I felt “alive” through community service, was when I went to the Christmas Store for the first time, during the SERVE retreat. During this trip, we helped move some of the donated items, sort the items, and put how many points the items cost. However, it wasn’t really while I was doing the service that I really got that feeling of being “alive.” This occurred to me when we first got there and were hearing about what they do at the Christmas store, how it impacts the community, and the number of people that are impacted by the work they do. I think this made me feel “alive” because of how many people benefit from their work, and how much the community comes together to help, either in the store or by donating something. Then, recently, I was able to go back to the Christmas Store and help with more preparations. During this trip, we were helping to prepare some of the clothing, by putting shirts together and then tying bows around them to keep them together and make them look nice. While on this trip, I felt the same joyful feeling as the first time I had come, but this time it was while I was actually doing service. I think that I felt this way during this experience because, I already knew how the Christmas Store benefited the community, and knowing that I was being a part of that impact led to that joyful feeling. Now, because of the positive experiences I have had there, I will be going back to the Christmas Store on reading day to be a helper. I am looking forward to this because we will actually get to see some of the community that it impacts, and see the impact of the work we did to prepare for the opening. I also hope that we continue to have the opportunity to go to the Christmas Store and take part in the preparations, because it is a great service experience which makes me feel “alive.”