Terrie Yang, Staples High School in Westport

[Note: This is not the article where you should vote for this contestant. This is essayist No. 5, so in the voting article, which is here, just post a comment that says ‘5' to vote for this student. Voting is limited to one person per finalist per day, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on May 18. The finalist essay follows.] 

Their bows are beautifully synchronized, the deep rich sound of the celli harmonizing perfectly with the vibrant tone of the violins. The clarinets, the flutes, the tubas, each contribute their own part to the production of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances. 

The works wouldn’t be complete without the colorful trills of the piccalo, nor the steady backbone of the bass. The interactions of all the instruments that compose a symphonic orchestra provide the channel through which a harmonious work can be created.

Community service is akin to this robust, interdependent channel. Each member of the community must play his or her part in this communal orchestra, interacting with others to help create societal harmony. 

For me, community volunteering means watching kids’ faces light up as they discover the wonders of soap bubbles. It means washing and dicing 30 pounds of squash or sorting through Kilimanjaro-sized piles of paperwork at the Norwalk Hospital. It means serving a hot dinner to guests at our local Community Kitchen, and sharing stories and laughter with others. Most of all, community volunteering means simply being a friend to everyone and helping all those around me, whether they’ve asked for it or not.

Volunteering is the perfect way for me to get connected with other members of the community and to give back for everything that I’ve been blessed with. Knowing that I will always be greeted with a home-cooked meal by my mother makes me want to reach out that much more to provide meals to those who don’t always have this luxury. 

Even if I don’t have the money or resources to provide others with everything that they need, I can always offer up my time or effort to help make somebody’s day just a little bit better. If my interaction with just one child at Stepping Stones elicits a smile or a giggle through my whole three hours shift, I know I’ve done my job.  

Community volunteering encompasses a broad spectrum of opportunities; from tutoring kids to wrapping gift baskets, everybody has his or her own role. Sometimes though, it’s hard for me to see the greater significance of my service, to see how copying dozens of patient records over and over again could ever amount to anything. But other times, the reward is instantaneous; the gratitude on our guests’ faces as I dole out portions of apple crisp, the hug goodbye from the child I’d been coloring with. 

By serving others, I’ve realized that I’m the one who is really being served. By interacting with others who have so little, yet are still so appreciative, I’ve learned to appreciate what I have that much more. But ultimately, the benefit is not even limited to just ourselves; through the interactions that make up our service, the whole community becomes more connected and interdependent as the contributions of each individual become essential for the consummation of this communal symphony.

[Note: This is not the article where you should vote for this contestant. This is essayist No. 5, so in the voting article, which is here, just post a comment that says ‘5' to vote for this student. Voting is limited to one person per finalist per day, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on May 18.]