Getting into Service

Because of busy-ness, I often feel like I don't have time to go out and do "service". I try to serve Julia as best I can at home, but this semester I have made it a goal to actually get out and do more service. This goal doubles as a way for me to prepare for my project because my project is all about service. I'm looking at how Tibetans and Indians have served one another and how their religious and/or personal beliefs may influence these actions. My church promotes service and I believe that doing service for others is a good thing, but if I don't do it myself, it seems hypocritical of me to make a film about a service oriented people. I hope that if I do service here in Provo before I go to India, I will be more inclined to give service while in India, and more likely to find and identify with Tibetans and Indians who are devoted to service.

I work for BYU's Y-serve program, so I know about plenty of service opportunities. The only problem is that when I go to any service activities, I am usually filming and getting paid for it. This weekend, however, I had the chance to go to a program called "BYU Experience" where mentally disabled adults come and hang out with BYU students on campus and participate in a variety of activities. I told myself going into it, that I would try not just to work, but to participate and even take a break from the camera to interact with the people. We had already acquired a decent amount of footage from this event in the past, so I didn't even pull out the camera for the first half of the activity. It was good to just help out and see people through my own eyes instead of through a camera lens. I hope that throughout the rest of the semester I will be able to continue to do this with my job, as well as look for other opportunities to give service outside of my job.