Isn’t volunteerism great? I really admire people who spend their weekends selflessly dishing out soup to the homeless or visiting shut-in convalescents. With every sandwich distributed or item of clothing donated, volunteers infuse society with optimism and hope for a brighter future. In short, volunteering is a great and noble duty.
This does not mean that it is an activity in which I take part. I gave it a shot once my first year of college, but after wandering around in the rain for two hours desperately seeking recipients for my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I swore it off for good. The only community service I’ve performed in the recent past was mandated by the Georgetown Honor Council. You’d have to pay me to spend all my free time cleaning up inner city parks, and that would contradict the basic principle of volunteering.
However, I am not completely heartless. Although I do not bring gifts to orphans during the holidays, I give back to society by accosting random strangers who look like they could be in need of a helping hand. The best example of my slightly skewed version of community service is my penchant for taking group photos for strangers.
When I see groups of people organizing themselves into rows and freezing their faces into smiles, I can’t help myself-I have to ask if they would like me to take a picture of everyone. I have taken group pictures on two continents, in restaurants, in front of monuments and national landmarks, of entire tour groups, with multiple cameras. I’ve photographed so many groups of strangers that it now comes as a reflex. One night this semester, which I’m spending abroad in France, I was walking home from work when, before I knew it, I was holding three cameras and yelling in French that Monsieur needed to move a little to the right. After people get over the initial shock of being approached by a stranger demanding they hand over their camera, they are usually pretty grateful. Most look relieved that they can go join their friends instead of being the one left out of the picture.
I have also had offers to take group pictures rejected. I’m pretty sure that I once interrupted a modeling shoot when I decided to ask if the photographer would like a shot of himself with the model. Some people have refused; one notable group “didn’t want that one girl in the picture anyway.” The first time I was rejected was harsh; it forced me to reconsider my whole policy of clandestinely bettering society through nearly unnoticable acts of kindness. Luckily, my repertoire of bizarre acts of volunteerism is pretty vast.
Almost as fulfilling as the group photo is the act that I refer to as the unsolicited gift. This occurs when I offer some of whatever I am eating to random strangers. Candy, gum, pastry, fruit-you want it, you got it. All it takes is one needy look. One night, I met a friend at the movies, only to dart furtively behind a post. Later, safe in the darkness of the theater, I explained that I had spotted a man who I had given a stick of gum to on the metro earlier that day. My friend commented that it was pretty weird that a man had just asked me for some gum. I corrected her-he didn’t ask, I just noticed that he looked like he really wanted a stick of gum. He thanked me when I gave it to him, and promptly started chewing it, so I assumed my intuition was right.
I also give back to society by performing services for people that they didn’t know they needed. When I was skiing recently, I noticed a snowboarder struggling on a flat part of the trail. Luckily, I was there to offer him my ski pole and tow him to the beginning of the next hill. He seemed a little surprised at first, but I, undaunted, spent the rest of the day scanning the horizon for other potential recipients of my aid.
When I first recognized my compulsion to help others in small and seemingly insignificant ways, I thought it might stem from some deep-seated desire to legitimately make a difference in people’s lives.
Then I realized that I do these things not out of consideration for others, but out of complete selfishness. I offer to take group pictures of people because I hate asking strangers to photograph my friends and me. I feel that if I take enough pictures of others, eventually I will be approached by someone offering to take a photo for me. I force gum upon people on the metro in hopes that someday someone will look at me and realize that I would really like a stick of gum too.
Does this completely devalue my attempt at community service? I don’t think so. I figure that most people volunteer for the self-gratification, for the praise from others, or for the padding it adds to their resums. At least I’m honest with myself-I’m just trying to make my world a better place, one stick of gum at a time.
Bailey Somers is a junior in the School of Foreign Service and an associate editor of The Georgetown Voice. Join her in “spicing it up” in March.
