February 19, 2017 - 22:04
This was the most successful praxis session so far. Perhaps it was because of the increased level of responsibility that comes with selecting the books, rather than just packing them. In that back room, social interaction was increased, and I spent my night talking to several U-Penn students who had all started here for various reasons (mostly to fulfill requirements), and then just decided to continue. The first person I asked said that she and her friends all came together because it was fun, they got to chat, and it made her feel good about herself. If she was going to spend time socializing with her friends, why not also do something for the benefit of others. Another group was there to fulfill a community service requirement for an organization they were in, I think it was for a sorority, but I unfortunately cannot remember exactly. A man, who was much older than the other volunteers, spoke to me a little later in the night. He was friendly, and told me he had just started volunteering recently. He was teaching himself Spanish, and was very excited about one day becoming fluent. He lived in the neighborhood, and it was a convenient place to volunteer. I suppose that’s why the organization attracts so many students, it is very easy to fit it into a typical college schedule. The last person I spoke to was processing letters in the very back of the room. This time they, not I, initiated the conversation. I suppose they heard my previous questions, for the form of their inquiries were similar to those I was earlier proposing towards the other volunteers. They had studied library science when they lived in the Midwest, and had volunteered there for about three months. It was similar to an organization they had participated in previously, and again they did it because it made them feel good about themselves, and they lived in the neighborhood.