A past teacher of mine once introduced me to community service. This teacher ran the National Junior Honors Society, which I was fortunate to be a part of.


The first service experience I had was in my own neighborhood. The neighborhood had been filled with graffiti, old and new covering alleyways, trashcans, and even houses. Our groups decided it was our duty as service members of our school, to make our community shine like a new car.

We broke off into pairs and my partners and I started down the nearest alleyway and began to paint, pick up, and take back these trash-covered aisles. My partner and I were shocked to see so much graffiti spewed upon public property. We encountered an elderly couple in their backyard curious to know what we were doing walking up and down the alley with a bucket of paint. We told them, “We are covering graffiti on the fences and trash bins.” The couple responded by saying, “Thank you kids so much… you don’t know how long we’ve been trying to get someone to come and paint our fences.” We assured them that it was no problem and I realized that rolling a little paint can not only help my neighborhood look better, but also can make the locals further appreciate their surroundings and us as kids.

When I began this expedition I thought, “Whose gonna care if an alley has a bit of paint?... that’s how all allies look.” By the end of the service, I can honestly say that a little help here and there goes a long way. I plan to help my community in the future when more opportunities arise.