I'm A Soldier!

For a couple weeks now, I have been working at the Salvation Army with a special group of kids who need some extra direction in life. Whether that means helping with homework, tutoring, or being a consistent person in their lives, it's a big job...and I love every moment of it. Every day is overwhelming in its own way, and I come home exhausted frequently, but I am so happy working there.

Of course, it's not a career for me, but while I'm looking for something more permanent, I can't think of anything more well-suited for me. I've come to find out that the things I am best at doing are working with kids and working for a better world through philanthropy. What I love so much about this job is that I am doing both! It's the kind of thing I would do on a volunteer basis--and what's better than getting paid to do something you would do on a weekend or in your free time? Not much, I'd say.

After graduating earlier this year, I found that I wasn't, and still am not, sure "what I want to be when I grow up." Needless to say, that fact made it a little hard to figure out where to send job applications and completely lacked direction in my ever-changing life plan. I'm very grateful to the "very formidable Marcia," a local journalist's wife, and friend of my mother's who mentioned the job opening at the Salvation Army. I am quite sure I would not have thought of working there for quite some time, if at all.

Yesterday, I put in a few extra hours to help people fill out applications to be a holiday Bell Ringer, you know, the people who stand outside your local mall with donation cans. It was nearly heartbreaking to see people need help to read the application or to have people ask me to write for them since they hadn't really mastered reading and writing. However, as hard as it was to fathom a life of illiteracy, I couldn't help but admire them. Here were people who had lost jobs, some who had done time in prison for various reasons, and others who wanted to be able to buy their kids a Christmas present. They weren't too proud to stand in the frigid Michigan weather during the winter to make that happen. They weren't too proud to ask for help. They were determined. They weren't laying down and wallowing in self-pity. No, instead, they were willing to work, wherever, whenever, to start over, to have a happy Christmas, to make the next house payment.

It's one of my favorite things about America-the hard-workers who refuse to stop in the face of a bleak economic future. They give a particular zest to life that I hope I can also exude. While all the protests happen across the country, while many people are expressing their discontent by marching Wall Street or getting arrested, I have a great respect for those who take that same time to work, or at least try to. Rather than spending time asking for wages, they're actually earning them or putting in applications so they may be able to. To me, that's America. I'm here to work for my lifestyle, who's with me?

That said, I believe there are people who need a boost, and that's why I'm so passionate about philanthropy. I am willing to give some of what I have so they can have a chance at achieving their own dreams. So, I couldn't be happier to announce that I am a Salvation Army Soldier, and I hope as the holiday season approaches, we can all find it in our hearts to do something good for others while we work for our own good.