Finding Ways to Serve as a Young Adult
“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
How can we, as 21st-century humans honor MLK and his legacy? Of course, there are many ways, but his commitment to service is one we can all live by.
Let’s define service: giving oneself to a cause or a mission greater than ourselves.
We need to take action to serve. Whether writing and serving an audience on Medium or teaching the next generation of leaders, we can’t think about serving others; we have to do it.
How do we find ways to serve?
Whether through our career, passion project, or volunteering, our service to others is a requirement for being a human. Or, as Muhammad Ali put it, “service is the rent you pay for living on earth.”
But often, we find ourselves stuck, not knowing where to begin. Do we volunteer at the food kitchen, the library, or do we pursue a career in education even if it doesn’t seem as lucrative?
Finding ways to serve requires asking yourself these questions:
- What do I enjoy doing that gives me energy?
- What are the strengths I bring to the table?
- How do I be the change in the world I wish to see?
- How can I serve people with the passions I have?
- Who do I want to be around when I’m serving?
Serving Can Lead to a Living
In college, I spent time as my fraternity’s Community Service chair and had the opportunity to volunteer in many different activities. I can tell you right now, even though I love nature, pulling weeds was my least favorite.
Eventually, I became a school boys basketball coach and fell in love with it. Serving and giving back my passion for sports allowed me to serve the next generation of basketball players.
Now, even though it’s meager, I get paid to coach basketball and teach kids. Who knows where it will end up taking me.
Serving others brings me an incredible amount of joy, improves my mental health, and gives me a purpose in this wild world we live in.
How are you going to serve humanity in honor of MLK?
