Community has always been important to me- it’s how I chose my college- but now it’s crucial. I’ve found ways to safely participate in community service during this period. I’m looking for jobs in my areas of expertise that consider their impacts on their communities, and have strong internal communities, regardless of whether they are in person or through screens- and I have found them.

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My current job has showed me that what I consider my areas of expertise actually cover several fields. Thanks to my English skills, I pick up terminology quickly. My interest in numbers, which I nurtured through studying music and business, translates nicely to understanding all kinds of accounts and money. I now have experience working in a medical office and can add billing to the list of things I'm qualified for, but more importantly, I have firsthand knowledge of how just how possible it is for an employer to value community the way I do, and I will never settle for less than that.

 

Besides that, I can afford to appraise a variety of jobs. There’s a lot I’m good at.

 

I enjoyed everything I did in high school, including a total of eight Advanced Placement classes and three years of French, but I started college as an English major. As much as I liked my math classes, all the way through AP Calculus BC, reading was my favorite thing to do and felt even more natural to me than numbers.

 

I assumed I’d also get a music minor, since I wanted to continue piano lessons, take voice lessons for the first time, join the choir, and learn more about music theory. I ended up loving my Music Theory class and couldn’t imagine dropping it after the first year. I committed to getting a music major on top of my English major. I ended up taking lessons for a few more instruments and joining a few more ensembles than I’d planned on.

 

I have been playing piano since 2003, when I was five years old. I was in my church's youth choir for a few years, and then took choir all of high school. The last three years of high school, it was the concert choir. Loving and playing music means I have learned discipline through constantly putting aside time for practice, a feat which only got more difficult in college.

 

I realized my schedule had just enough room for a minor to go with my two majors. I wanted something that would put my critical mind and common sense to use, so I decided to minor in business. I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to work with numbers again, especially in accounting- I love when everything has a right answer!- and seeing how my writing skills made essays in my non-English classes incredibly easy.

 

I have had plenty of service opportunities in both Washington and Nebraska. In Washington, the annual events I attended were putting together turkey baskets at Thanksgiving for those who needed them, participating in Holiday Hospitality for the Homeless at Christmas, and doing the 30 Hour Famine to raise awareness for world hunger. There were also servant projects that included painting houses and leading Vacation Bible Schools or their equivalent. In Nebraska, it has included servant projects as they come up, such as clearing out basements, tying blankets, visiting nursing homes, and hosting food drives. I was also able to organize community service opportunities myself, which taught me to look for problems and their solutions instead of waiting for someone to tell me about them.

 

Now, I am working with my church’s food bank. The government decided in 2020 to send boxes of food for existing food banks to distribute. Our food bank had to complete overhaul the way they dispensed food, and needed more volunteers. I stepped up. A big part of it is just lifting boxes, but it’s also talking to people and making quick judgments on how best to help them. There are no assigned roles; when I’m not figuring out how to open trunks while balancing 30 pounds of food, I break apart boxes, portion out produce, sort bread and desserts, and help take everything down at the end of the day.

 

What else? I want to write. I am taking this time in my life to do that. I write articles, essays, and creative fiction and nonfiction. I am working on getting published again. The thing about writing is that there is always more to write: I will always be writing and trying to publish the things I am interested in.

 

I want to go to law school. This is a more distant dream. I’ve always been interested in the ideas of justice and fairness.

 

For now, I am keeping busy, but as in college, I know there are more things that I could do. I know there are steps to take between where I am now and my safe, successful future. I am looking forward to them.