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Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Iryna I dedicate this essay to my grandma, a fairy of my childhood and the best storyteller in the world. To a person who is now being checked for cancer and waiting for results. To a person who comprehended the word "hope". News about my grandma's possible illness was a sudden "wake-up-call" for me. This was the first time in my life when I really understood that people can actually die. Suddenly and unexpectedly. They can just go and never be back. And this realization scared me to death. But it also made me aware of things much more important in our lives than money or a career. It made me aware of what I can do in my life for others. When my coordinator told me about "Walk for Hope. To Cure Breast Cancer", I then decided that that was something I wanted to do. I desired this not just because of my grandma's illness, but also because I wanted to make my payment in the world's fight against cancer. And so did thousands of people who came that day to say their word in our joint fight. I was thinking of reasons that would make people pay money and give their time to such a drive. There were people who had fought cancer, and I celebrate with them. Others are fighting their war now, and I pray for them. The rest just willed to help, and I am proud of them. That was an incredible experience for me. I actually felt like each of us can make a difference, and this is the most important. A lot of people in my native country die from cancer just because they don't know enough about it. A lot of them don't know that they can fight cancer and live a full life. Most refuse treatment because they think nothing can help them. If we had such a drive in Ukraine, it would make a tangible difference. All we need is this "wake-up-call". Unfortunately, the idea of community service as a way to solve societal problems is new to my country. In the United States quite the reverse happens; volunteerism is a huge part of American culture. Everywhere around there is an ocean of opportunities to get involved. When I first came here, I found a book in the library called 1500 Ways Teens Can Make a Difference. A little while later, however, I understood that I don't need this book; nobody needs it. All we need to do is to look around. There are hundreds of people we face every day who need help. All we need is a desire to help them. Although I have been here just three months, I have participated in a variety of volunteer activities. I volunteered at Longfellow Elementary School's media center and for pre-school program for kids. Together with my church community I helped to organize a church service for people at a nursing home, and now I'm going to volunteer there individually. At school I joined the HYC (Helping Young Children) club where I am in charge of the pen pal program for elementary students. All these activities helped me to understand that volunteerism is not exactly " doing something without a reward ". Because there is a reward, much more valuable than money. This reward is people's attitude and a lot of new friends. And those are the things that helped me greatly to adapt myself to completely new environment during my first weeks in the United States. To paraphrase the words of my coordinator, the big picture opens when we go home. We have a huge field of opportunities in front of us. And it's up to us what we plant in this field. I have already decided what I want to bring to my country: community service as the way to make our world the better place to live. But to do so I have to use every opportunity while staying here to learn as much as possible about this new culture, which is why I would love to have a chance to go to this workshop and learn more about important aspects of American lifestyle.
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