The Social Change Wheel

On the social change wheel I believe that I fall under the categories of direct service and socially responsible daily behavior.  I may fall under the voting/formal political activities category as well though.  I am in the category of direct service because I have volunteered at different locations many times.  I would always help with Vacation Bible School (VBS) at my church each summer, I helped teach incoming kindergartners about safety at Safety Town, and I would volunteer my time helping with other organizations as well- through my Girl Scout troop mostly.  I belong in the socially responsible daily behavior category because I try to do things like recycle and carpool when I can.  This is an easy category to be a part of because it does not take a bunch of extra effort.  I could fit into the voting/formal political activities category because I have voted.

I feel like I am pretty involved with my community, but when I look at all of the categories of involvement that I am not a part of, it makes me feel like I am not doing enough.  While I probably could be more involved in the community than I am, I also feel that some of the things on the list would be difficult for me to do at this point in my life.  There are many different leadership positions listed on the sheet under multiple categories that I do not feel like I could fulfill.  It's not that I do not think I would be capable of doing the job (I bet I could if I put my mind to it),  it is that I feel getting help and support from the community may be difficult because of my age and lack of experience.  Although I'm sure some would support me, many adults would look at me and think that I am unable to do the job.

For now, I am going to stick with what I have been doing, but I am going to continue to look for more opportunities to become involved in my community.  Wartburg is a great place to discover these opportunities.  Maybe I will find a group that I am able to participate in that will not only be fun, but will help the community in the process.