Creating Social Value Blog / Service in Action

It’s Not About You

Joining CAP: Friends of the Homeless of the South Shore a month and half later than everyone else, I was not quite sure if I would really fit in and enjoy waking up early on Friday mornings. Just a month and some change after my first day, I’ve realized quite a few things. For one, CAP is not about you in the sense it’s not about making your life easier, at your convenience. CAP is about taking time out of your day and helping others, often times, those who are less fortunate. CAP is not just about making some extra money, you learn to be selfless, you learn to have empathy, and most of all, you learn more about being human.

I clearly remember my first day of working at the homeless shelter. Showing up on site, I honestly still was unsure as to what to expect. Right away, I was assigned to put boards into the ceilings. Now, never having done anything like that in the entirety of my life, I was kind of doubtful and dubious of myself. But what I learned from this, a life lesson, that sometimes we get so wound up in our own individual lives, we forget that there’s people who care, who are kind, and who are always willing to help. Sure enough, another person patiently guided, explained and showed me what it was I needed to do, and just like that, the next 3 hours flew by. Measuring, cutting and placing the boards into the ceiling frame became so easy. Now, I still would not call myself an expert, but that felt at the end of the day when I got on campus and reflected what I’d just done was just indescribable. Seeing that I had contributed in helping put a roof over someone else, it was almost, maybe even more so, of a better feeling than getting an A on paper.

-Pauline Tan, Class of 2021