Common Mistake

In one of our sessions in CSRGOVE, we were given a chance to choose which organization we would like to partner with for our service learning. We were given a chance to choose between PK (Produktong Katutubo) and MMP. For some reason, the nature of PK appeared to be more interesting for almost everyone in the class which is why almost if not all of us chose to partner with that organization. Since we cannot all partner with PK, the class definitely has to be divided. Again, we were given a chance by our professor to volunteer for MMP - yet no one did. It was until the idea of draw lots was suggested that my group of friends in that class decided to volunteer for MMP.

When I was thinking of a topic for my blog entry to kick-off this blog, I looked back to all the sessions that we had. Of all the sessions that we had yet, I realized that the particular session which I just shared encapsulates the behavior of probably most people in our generations towards CSR and the other things that come along with it.

I have realized that there was something wrong with how we behaved during that session - and probably how we behave most of the time when it comes to these things. I asked myself, why did no one among the class of around 40 willingly volunteer for MMP? This got me thinking of what really the end goal of the class is. Perhaps, it was not about helping.

Come to think of it, if the class really just wanted to help, it would not really matter to which organization we partner with. What would matter is what the class would be able to do for that organization. But then again, just like how people always are, we selfishly thought of ourselves first before others. We thought of which was most comfortable and convenient for us. Instead of prioritizing the organization that would benefit, we prioritized ourselves first. I know for a fact that this should not be the case. It should be the other way around. You do not help just for the sake of helping. You help because you feel the need to do so and because you know you want to.

This could be related to how people are towards CSR as a whole. I believe that in order to fully inculcate CSR in our ways, we should have set our mind and heart towards it in the first place. It can't be just something that you are tasked to by others, it should be something that you have tasked yourself.

By the end of this course, I wish to look back to this entry and I wish that I would be able to say to myself that I will no longer commit the same mistake again - of putting myself first before those who I am going to help. I admit that there are errors in our ways, but I also know for a fact that there is still room for us to change this and CSRGOVE might have just opened the door for that room.