Chapter 12: Above and Beyond

As I left off from last time (Chapter 11: Passion for the Kitchen), I was offered many volunteering opportunities. In the past, I would just let it go by me. But not this time. My chef volunteered me to many and I volunteered myself to a few. One of the most memorable experiences was the CHIPS Soup Kitchen (it is a non-profit organization that serves limited meals daily, offers shelter, and have clothing drives). It was the day before Christmas Eve, December 23, 2010. This was the holiday of giving and celebrating, knowing that I did my part to help the less fortunate feels great! If you have a chance to help the less fortunate, please do so!

That day, I had to be up at 4 A.M. because I was told I have to be there by 5. When I reached the destination I was by myself in this freezing weather, locked outside. After I waited for about half an hour, my friend called and asked if I wanted to stay inside her building for the time being. I accepted the offer. When they were ready, we set out to the soup kitchen once again. This time there were a few more volunteers there. We got in and started working right away. Long story short, after six hours of cooking we were finally ready for service at noon. Since the space inside is limited, there was a line outside. We decided to bring everyone outside soup first to keep them warm. That was when I realized how ungrateful some people are.

Some of the people that did not receive their soups yet were screaming out profanities and calling us names, others that already got their share of the soup wanted seconds and did not hesitate to grab it from the tray. The only thing that was preventing them from bum-rushing in was the long time war veterans that were with us. Although there were a few rude people, but a lot of them were very thankful. All that hard work that we have done was well rewarded by their warm smiles. It was also a splendid experience for me to work in another kitchen besides my own or the school's and I had a chance to work with great people, my chefs and my colleagues. It was a very fun and precious moment.

So that was my little story volunteering story, why did I title this post "Above and Beyond?"

Well I realized that in order to have a clearer path for your future, you have to put yourself out there. Volunteering is one of the more stronger activities you can do to achieve so. You can't just be like 'oh I did my part' and that's that. You have to go above and beyond the current requirements to make something out of anything these days.

"Being enlightened is no longer enough, you must apply. Being willingness is no longer needed, you must do." -Royce da 5'9

This quote from Royce (from the intro of his song 'Shake This') puts it very nicely and clearly. Royce is a very talented hip hop artist. Just saying...

So might as well end this post with that said song:
Royce Da 5'9 - Shake This