seeing them smile and whisper words of thanks, i felt happy :) not because i was proud of what id done today, but because i truly enjoyed my day with them, even if i did not really interact much with the elders @ renci hospital. it is feelings like these that keeps volunteers going. no, it is not the sense of accomplishment or just the pride volunteers have while giving, we just felt genuinely happy and cant bear to leave. its that simple.

im not fluent in dialects, and i am not the kind who can talk hours nonstop to strangers, much less elders. i do what i can to help here and there, and i think its not enough. more often than not, i find myself out of place and start to question whether my presence makes any difference. but as the frail-looking old man reaches out his hand to each and everyone of the volunteers around his bed, even when only one of us actually talked to him and gave him the card.. to them, every soul that was present was there for them, giving them support and comfort when they had even just a tinge of loneliness and boredom. i shook the hand, smiled and felt accepted. once u feel accepted, u know that what u have done does make a little impact, and u feel like coming back to give more :)

its not rare to see people who stop volunteering after a while, or after they leave school. in fact, its everywhere. commitments start to pile and priorities make us think twice about spending time on volunteer work. most volunteers would have thought about quitting before, and others would question themselves whether its time well spent. if i could spend the time reading one more chapter of the text, i would be one step closer to an A! if i could spend more time running dungeons, i could have gotten that epic item from the boss, oh well its raining, if it was good weather i would go.. if i could just SLEEP! well, all these are valid excuses, as one has his own choice of what to do with his time. but for me, it feels great to be able to bring something into others lives, even if only once in a while.

looking at the external choir group singing merrily to the patients, i sort of feel a sense of envy. even at their age, they could have a group of like-minded friends coming together and volunteering on a day that most people would keep for themselves to enjoy with their loved ones. they obviously are busy people as well, but compared to others who were working hard at their offices, they chose to share their joy here @ renci, singing the songs over and over again. they were tired, perspiration all over the guitarist's face, but they didnt stop smiling :)

its not wrong to not volunteer, and volunteering does not make u the best person in the world. follow your heart and do what makes u smile :D for us volunteers, i hope we will never lose this passion and love for voluntarism!