WITH all the competition to get into college or to get scholarships, students everywhere struggle to make themselves look better in the eyes of the administration gods. Do the right thing:
Be a volunteerSuddenly, doing well in class isn't enough. We need to show that we can go above and beyond the call of duty. (And no, reaching level whatever on some Sega Genesis game does not count.)
Those who have already gone to the Olympics or scored 1600 on the SATs can stop reading here. But what about the rest of us who go straight home after school to vegetate in front of "The Smurfs" and "Inspector Gadget"?
With people like us, the panic of not having anything to brag about to the admissions and scholarship gods begins to set in about sophomore year in high school. Talk of embellishing records (picking up my manapua wrapper from the sand counts as beach cleanup, yeah?) fills school corridors. We even start visiting our old teachers from kindergarten to get good teacher recommendations (Ana always colored inside the lines).
All this stress can be avoided.
A really easy way to decorate your high school record with activities acceptable to the admissions and scholarship gods is to do community service. It looks really impressive when you work without getting paid for it. Well, actually, your payoff is the goodness that envelopes your heart after you do a good deed. Adults really like it when kids show "responsibility and maturity far beyond their years."
In English, this means you get more brownie points for doing something as little as helping out for an hour every week. That's less than the time supposedly spent exercising on the NordicTrack.
BUT what if I don't care about college, you ask? Volunteering can still help you. Imagine how bored you'll be at the beach this summer. Sure, we live in paradise, but going to the beach all day, every single day for three months will give you a nasty leather tan, or worse. Come September, your classmates might mistake you for a tourist with your lobster skin.
What else is there to do then? You can practice for retirement and ride around all day on TheBus and hang out at McDonald's. Or you can run amok and get a free ride to Halawa Prison, courtesy of the generous Peter Carlisle.
You can avoid skin cancer or a suite of scary 300-pound guys by just giving up a few hours a month to volunteer.
Seriously, imagine how you'd feel after helping a little girl with cerebral palsy draw a picture of her grandma, or helping to eradicate the miconia from Manoa Valley. I'd take that feeling of accomplishment and pride in doing something worthwhile over the boredom of summer vacation any day.
And that adult respect for your responsibility and maturity I mentioned? It extends to your parents too. They might start taking you seriously when you ask to borrow the car for a night out. And while volunteering, there's always the possibility of meeting some cute guys or girls your age.
If you want more information about where, when or how to volunteer, show up noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Ala Moana CenterStage. The 1997 Teen Volunteer will be going on in celebration of National Volunteer Month. In addition to the information available, there will be entertainment by the University of Hawaii Rainbow Dancers, Soul'd Out, Slam! and Local Anesthesia, and prize giveaways as well. For information, call the Teen Volunteer Hotline at 595-8400, Ext. 205.
If you want to be moelepo and not volunteer, come anyway. If you get bored, at least you can go shopping.
Ana Cecilia Ver is a sophomore at Iolani School.
She is organizing the 1997 Teen Volunteer Fair as part of
the requirements to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, the
highest earned award in Girl Scouting. Ver is an active
volunteer for the Girl Scouts, Key Club
and Mother Rice Preschool.Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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