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Outstanding Devotion

Did you find any super valuable and interesting stuff? This was sort of our watchword on October 1st, when we had a splendid experience as a volunteer to clean up the Spokane River. It was my first time to take part in a volunteer activity in my life. Since I was in Japan, I was interested in volunteering, but I was not brave to do it. This was why, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to start to be brave when I was invited to join this activity. I will tell you about my strange feelings that I felt through this activity.

Firstly, I realized that people who joined the activity were so attractive and had clear-cut personality. They were not scared to go into the bushes, and they know when to give up. I was impressed many times by the leaders' actions. They often asked me "Did you find any big stuff?" I wanted to answer the question, so, I was really eager to collect the garbage. However, I felt so bad when I was walking along the river because there were lot of feces on the road, and I was so surprised the amount. In Japan, the owner of a pet must disposal of excrement. I think that Americans should think about it. Throwing out garbage is absolutely simple but collecting garbage is absolutely severe work.

Secondly, through this activity, I found that I was Okay with people throwing out garbage because I was collecting it. To tell you the truth, I really enjoyed collecting garbage, and I was absolutely mad at people for throwing garbage near the river. I think the feeling was exactly selfish, but I cannot help thinking so. People should not throw garbage away near the river. If people do not throw garbage away near the river, the volunteers who collect garbage are not needed. In fact, I myself do not throw out garbage, however, it is reality the volunteers exist who want to collect garbage as one of joyful like me. It might be a little different depending on the person but most of them were eager to pick up the litter, I think that the situation was so unusual though.

Finally, I learned that people who focus on just one thing are really cool. I have given up trying to reach goal many times so far. However, by watching people who volunteered, I was impressed by them. My thinking has exactly changed from the beginning to the end. I cared about people staring at me so far. However, I learned that to be independent is important in a situation. While volunteering, I tried to take a positive attitude, then, one of the leaders said to me that I had outstanding devotion. I was really proud of myself when he said this. Pushing myself into the world is not so easy but taking a step forward to the world is not so difficult.

As you can see, I felt many things during that day, and it was really unforgettable experience for me. I was glad to be there, and I want to keep pushing myself into a new world even if it is a hard thing.

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