One Week

I have one week left of AmeriCorps.

It has been an awesome experience. I didn't think I was going to be able to do it financially, and while that has been a great struggle, it actually wasn't the hardest part about AmeriCorps.

The hardest part was doing service alongside apathetic people who couldn't be bothered to try, or give more than was asked (and in some cases just give what was asked). And these are the types of people who make you feel bad for caring.

My whole life I've been told that you get what you put in. I've been told that when you cheat, you're only cheating yourself. I've been told that people get what's coming to them. And maybe that's true... but my experience has taught me that life is pretty unfair. And sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes bad people come out on top.

My philosophical friend Harrison posed this question recently: "If Heaven and Hell don't exist, then why should we be good people? What's the point? Why not just be bad and greedy and live your life and then die? Is there anything within life that makes being good matter?"


Why should we be good if there's no reward? This is the attitude I have experienced from so many people. I say be good for the sake of being good. Because when you do a good job, everyone benefits, including you. (Example: when I make sure I enter orders correctly at work, our drivers have an easier time, and the receiving department has an easier time, and then people who are hungry get to eat, and everyone is happy.) Because things are going to go wrong that you cannot control. But you can control so many things! Use your power for good.

Yes, it's hard. Yes, it's not glamorous. Yes, most people won't notice or care. But why would you ever want to be a mediocre person? If you don't care about what you're doing, then you're doing the wrong thing. And if you don't care about anything, then you're doing it wrong.


"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Because the world needs people who have come alive." -- Howard Thurman