Its not what the universe gives us that matters, but what we give the universe

Lauren Myracle
Since I was a child, I vividly remember hearing the song with lyrics of "walang
sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang" when I go to church. My mother would
always sing it, but only the first few lines and it'll slowly fade when she can't remember
the lyrics anymore.
I grew up with a giving mother. She'd always give me everything I ask for as long
as it's reasonable. I guess growing up, she taught me that the world doesn't revolve
around me and what I do will always have an effect on other people so I should always
think first before doing anything stupid.
I guess volunteerism to me would be giving my time and effort for other people. I
studied in a Catholic school and we always had community immersions from high school
up to present, and I think it's a great way of sparking the students' awareness about what
goes on outside school. We, as students, seldom have time to give back to the community
since at the moment we have our weeks full blown with books to read and things to do.
Good thing the school itself makes an effort to create a habit out of the students in
helping out in the community.
In high school, we'd go to places just around the school, conduct feeding
programs and also have fun and games just like what we did in our community
immersion for this class.
In college, we had NSTP where we were sent to Nueva Ecija to teach children

math for a weekend. We were there, and it didn't matter that we didn't have anything
special for the kids, just spaghetti and chicken. They didn't care that we were about an
hour late (because the estimated travel time was 5-6 hours and we took 7) because we
still got there, and the best part is: the kids will love you. Most of the kids we visited
were not used to attention. We asked them how their families were like, and the child
designated to me said her parents were almost never home because they had to work. Her
parents had a stall in the market so they had to be there early morning and at night, she
doesn't get to see them much because she's in school and when they get home she's
already asleep. The only time they get together is when she helps out in the market,
which still isn't the kind of bonding you'd want to have with your parents. Out of all the
experiences, that was most remarkable because she really did like having other people
around. I even gave her a sandwich I kept in my bag for my snack and she told me about
the past few days while she was eating. She said they hadn't eaten together at the same
table for a while. Most of the time her parents will just leave her food before they go back
to the market. She says she doesn't go to the market after class because she had to do
homework and sleep early so she can wake up early for school. She's used to being alone
at home, and it stopped bothering her after the first few weeks.
It's nice to have people open up to you even if you don't know them. They'll tell
you all about themselves, and all they ask is for you to listen to what they say.
I guess people don't need much, just the company of another human being.
Someone to talk to, to share stories with, to eat with, to laugh with, is just what we need
as people. Companionship should be added as a basic need.