My Deviant Experience

I have recently completed a service project at the animal shelter in Bulloch County, Georgia. For four days I rode with my group to the animal shelter to play with the animals. Playing with the animals shows them compassion. We played with many dogs over the course of four days. Doing this service have made myself and my group servant leaders. What is a servant leader you ask, well a servant leader wants to help others better themselves. They want to help even if they do not look like, think like, or talk like us.

The four theories of deviance are The Learning Theory, The Strain Theory, The Social-Bond Theory and the Labeling Theory. These theories alone can explain the reasoning behind someone’s deviant behavior. But, in There Are No Children Here we see all of these theories being demonstrated. This lets us have an understanding of exactly why we are seeing the deviant behavior that we are.

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

I have been involved with several service activities throughout my life. Some of the more recent services that I have participated in include: Helping set up and helping teach underprivileged children at the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School. Here I volunteered my time during the summer helping set up the classrooms and supplies, moving and unpacking and organizing; supplies, food, and donations the summer program. I also helped out this summer program by checking people in and out, guiding and directing people where to go, and unload and load the children onto the busses. During the summer I also volunteered a week of my time to be a “buddy” to a special olympiad at their Special Olympics Athletic Retreat. Being a “buddy” included self regulation, chaperoning on field trips one on one, assisted with self care skills when they where needed. Also this summer I volunteered my time for four weeks being a counselor in training at the Stowe YMCA. This included reading to the campers, helping serve meals to the campers, Chaperoning on field trips with the campers and being camp counselors to campers in grades pre-k through fifth grade. I also have been participating on my temple’s youth group advisory board. There I help determine, plan, organize, and run group activities and social events for the youth groups. I have been doing this for the past three years. This group also partakes in several community service projects throughout the

Acts of service always created a desire in me to help make people’s lives better. People often put forth their best when

Deviance is an action or behavior that violates social norms, including a formally enacted rule, as well as informal violations of social norms. Deviant behavior is any behavior that is contrary to the dominant norms of society. Norms are rules and expectation by which members of society are conventionally guided. Social norms differ from culture to culture. Deviance can be criminal or non-criminal.

There was one man I talked to in particular that sticks out in my mind. And we didn’t even deliver to him. When we first got to IU Medical Center, we had to wait about 30 minutes for the food to be brought to us. While we waited, a man about 75 years old started talking to us. He told us about how his wife had died eleven years ago and after she died, he started volunteering at Meals on Wheels every day for the past ten years. He explained that his wife had a disease that got so severe that she was put in an assisted living home. The particular assisted living home she was in had meals for her, but were expensive. So her husband found Meals on Wheels. The couple got themselves each two meals a day and had lunch and dinner together every day. After the man’s wife died, he started delivering the meals to people who are not healthy and able to get out and go shopping for meals. This man was such a sweet man. This man is doing something that Jesus would have done. Even at his old age, he still takes time every day to help somebody else out besides himself, someone less fortunate and unable. This man sacrifices at least three hours a day delivering meals to people that he would not have known otherwise. This man made an impact on my life. He showed me that even when we think we are

As a National Honors Society student one of the four qualities we are to exhibit is service. I exhibit the quality of service by taking out time to go over and beyond the norm to help others, and the community. I have been helping the community and others ever since I was a child. Being an active member at my church, I remember in my elementary years helping feed the homeless at the City Union Mission. My time spent at the City Union Mission impacted me till this day, and now I prepare meals after church for the men that come to worship service. As a Christian it is important to show humility, and to not take pride in myself. I am taught to not be selfish, hateful, or ungrateful, I use what I am taught by my family, the Bible, church, and

As a student, I have demonstrated many works of service to my community and school. Service opportunities have shaped me into the person I am today and these projects have made me realize how fortunate I am for all that I have. While I've been doing these service projects through the years, it has been a pleasure seeing the joy on the faces of people that aren't as fortunate as I am. Service projects that I have completed include managing the fish booth at the St. Leo's Parish Festival, being an altar server at St. Leo's Parish, helping cook dinner for the Ridgway Fire Department during carnival day setup, participating in the St. Marys Light Up Night by dancing, and Christmas caroling to local residents. I also participated in a zombie/princess

Of all of the tasks one can do, by far the noblest act is sharing one’s self to others and living in service. Though it is daunting at times, ultimately, serving others, whether through simple acts of kindness, participating in charities, or actively assisting to create a better future, is something I am willing and currently doing. In addition, both my current actions and the mindset I have behind my actions (both religious and secular) lay the foundation of a lifetime of service.

At a young age I discovered a passion for helping others and I have continued to be passionate about serving my community since then. At the age of eight years old I began the first year of what would soon be my ten year membership of 4-H. Through that program and my church’s youth group I truly began to understand what selfless service was all about. I first began helping others by walking dogs at the local shelter and helping my 4-H club clean the sides of the highways. I later was able to experience several mission trips that opened my eyes to the larger aspect of service. My love for helping people continued to grow as I got older and I continued to find ways to make a difference. One of my favorite experiences was getting to help cook and serve a meal at a homeless

To me “Not To be served, but to serve” means to put others needs before your own. Service seems to almost be necessary once someone appreciates all that has been done for them. In my case, I have already begun to give back to community which has already given me so much to me. Three years ago I joined a club called the Jr. Civitans. Junior Civitan is a student-led service organization for middle and high school students. The club has a special focus on helping people with developmental disabilities. Throughout the year, we do multiple fundraisers that benefit the special education students at my high school. Some of these events include a Haunted Forest, a Spaghetti Dinner, and a Prom Dress fashion show. The club really emphasizes the focus

Often, we never see the effects of our actions. Sometimes, we find ourselves comfortably distancing acts of service from why they are committed and whom they impact. I never genuinely understood what lies at the root of service until my freshman year of high school.

Thinking back on my morning, I came to realization that God has blessed my friends and I graciously. We do not struggle to find shelter or beg for food. There are so many things to be grateful for such as a loving family and a good education. I am ashamed to say that I usually take these blessings for granted. God was present throughout the whole experience because He was present in the volunteers, the people who donated the canned goods, and the people receiving the canned goods. One of Jesus’ teachings was to love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is through volunteering and helping out in the community that we fulfill this teaching. Also, the more I told my friends about Second Harvest the more they starting joining and volunteering. Second Harvest has strengthened my actions because it has made become more active in my community. It also has shown to me that there are people in my community that are starving, so my friends and I need to try our best to make their life a little bit

I have learned the importance of serving others by being a part of the youth group at my church. Every fourth Sunday of the month, my youth group takes snacks to Holston Valley Hospital. We go to most of the