Servant Leadership: My Experience

If you have ever heard Avicii’s song "Hey Brother," you will be familiar with these lyrics:

"Hey brother! There's an endless road to rediscover. 
Hey sister! Do you still believe in love? I wonder.
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do."

The thing about it is that they are totally true! There is so much out there to discover. There are so many people to get to know. There is so much to do! Did you realize that?

If you believe in love, service, and spreading joy, this is one endless adventure. It has been the adventure of a lifetime for me! I have befriended so many people that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. It has become one of my passions and it was before, but I didn’t know that it was a thing.

Open your eyes and believe in love and service. Doing things for you is okay, but doing things for others [especially less fortunate people] is so much better!

What is really weird—and you wouldn’t expect this at all—you are going to have so much fun doing it; I know I did. My friends would go with me and we would have so much fun playing games with the children, talking with and befriending the adolescents, and playing board games and singing Christmas carols with the elderly. It makes you feel so great about yourself, too!

I couldn’t imagine a better opportunity to give back than Darlington's Servant Leadership Program. We are the fortunate ones, so let’s help them. There is so much love to be given to these children and there are so many roads and places to help and discover!

My personal favorite was going to the Open Door Children's Home. I met girls and boys who had lived on the streets and they became my friends. I begged to get them to our special events. I wanted them to be here and have fun. Every kid that you get to meet is amazing and beautiful.

Two tips: 1) Bring a good attitude and you will have a lot more fun! 2) Interact as much as possible! You could be talking to the future mayor or maybe even president. These kids will surprise you, but have fun and be thankful! 

Editor's Note: Students contributed over 11,000 hours of service to the Rome-Floyd County community in the 2014-15 school year as a part of Darlington's Servant Leadership Program.