Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

One particular volunteering experience I’d like to touch light upon was when my brothers and I (Alpha Phi Delta) went to a park in Brooklyn near the end of November, and planted trees and various plants after the devastating storms that hit NY left it severely damaged. When we arrived at the park, the scene was quite horrendous. One half of the park was filled with holes that would be used to plant the new trees and plants, and the other half of the park was filled with people removing the dead/damaged plants so more new holes could be dug. My brothers and I set and began to restore the park to it’s original state. After receiving thorough instructions from the organization that coordinated the activity, we found ourselves planting tree after tree and the park slowly began restoring. While doing this act of community service, I personally felt like i was in fact making a major difference and being a positive force. However, not only did i feel good about the act i was performing, but the act itself was surprisingly a source of vast relaxation which triggered a deep sense of inner peace. At the end of the day, we managed to plant trees/plants throughout the entire park, and no one would even notice that a storm had in fact caused destruction.