One Person CAN Make A Difference
By Eimy Sarduy, Junior, iPreparatory Academy
By Eimy Sarduy, Junior, iPreparatory Academy
Hickory Point Bank & Trust, Community Trust
Most of us have probably heard the term citizenship. Some of us even have a definition for it. But, for those who are still indecisive about the meaning of citizenship, in simplest terms, it is doing your best to help your community. But how can just one person be expected to make a difference in an entire community?
Volunteering your time not only gives you the hours you need to graduate high school, but it also makes you a good citizen. For example, as most of you know, to graduate from iPreparatory Academy, you need to do 100 hours of community service. Right now, volunteering activities are a little difficult to organize, but if you are in clubs like NHS, NEHS, or Mu Alpha Theta, chances are you will get the opportunity to tutor. Helping your classmates in difficult subjects helps boost their grades and makes our community at iPrep smarter. Additionally, helping out your school shows that you care, which is one thing that all members of a society should do. So, show just how much you appreciate your community and volunteer whenever possible.
There are plenty of small things that you can do to better your community. Some of them are recycling and conserving energy. For a while, after the news of Covid-19 hit the world, recycling was suspended or limited. However, it is back, so be sure to set aside a special place for those reusable items. Remember, recycling helps keep your community and our planet cleaner. Something that might be harder to do now, considering that school is now online for a lot of us, is conserving power, so remember to turn off your electronic devices when you are not using them and to turn off the lights when you exit a room. These small changes might not seem like they would make a big difference, but they do. Getting even one person to adjust their energy consumption leads to monumental changes because that person then encourages others to do the same, and the cycle repeats itself, so don’t discount small victories.
There are plenty of small things that you can do to better your community. Some of them are recycling and conserving energy. For a while, after the news of Covid-19 hit the world, recycling was suspended or limited. However, it is back, so be sure to set aside a special place for those reusable items. Remember, recycling helps keep your community and our planet cleaner. Something that might be harder to do now, considering that school is now online for a lot of us, is conserving power, so remember to turn off your electronic devices when you are not using them and to turn off the lights when you exit a room. These small changes might not seem like they would make a big difference, but they do. Getting even one person to adjust their energy consumption leads to monumental changes because that person then encourages others to do the same, and the cycle repeats itself, so don’t discount small victories.
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One of the simplest things we can do to make our community better is to be informed about the events that are happening around it. Amidst a pandemic, the most important thing is to watch the news to keep track of any changes in policies or Covid cases. Keeping yourself informed about this deadly disease helps protect you from contracting it, and remember that when you keep yourself safe, you also help keep others safe. Surprisingly, reading a short article has the potential to keep a community safe. #ValuesMatter |
GoGraph, Vector Clipart
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Finally, I can't forget to mention the only topic that has managed to be more discussed than Covid this month: elections. The elections of 2020 have been eventful, but they did encourage voting, which is one responsibility of a United States citizen. Most of us cannot vote since we are still under the age of 18. However, we can encourage our parents to vote, and those who are at least 16 years old can register to vote, even if they cannot participate in elections yet. They say that every vote counts, so whether you mailed in your ballot or stood in line to vote, you made a difference in your community.
For the most part, the events happening around us make it seem like there is not anything that anyone can do to make a change, but if we all work together, it might not be so difficult to see that one person truly can make a difference.
For the most part, the events happening around us make it seem like there is not anything that anyone can do to make a change, but if we all work together, it might not be so difficult to see that one person truly can make a difference.