For the past two Fridays I have been volunteering at Central Park. Walking around the park and picking up litter is a surprisingly enjoyable experience, especially in good weather. Yet I was uncertain whether I would be able to work there for the entire day, as I had planned to do. After all, I remembered the park to be a fairly clean place. To my amazement, I collected about six bags worth of garbage on the first day that I volunteered. When you are looking for garbage, it is remarkably easy to notice it.
On the next Friday when I returned to the park, I was disheartened to see that all of the litter had returned to its usual place- weather it was on the paths, in the bushes, or surrounding the garbage cans. Sure, a week had passed and the park had probably seen thousands of new people, but it was the first time that I came to realize that my work was somewhat futile. No matter how much littler I picked up, the park would still be full of it by the next week.
This made me think about the overarching concept of community service. I may have helped my community and even made a difference for that day. Yet the level of garbage remained constant, before and after I lent my helping hand. Does community service truly have a lasting impact on our community or does it have to be repeated on a regular basis for there to be real change?
My experience reminds me of Luc Sante’s Low Life and his belief that progress is only a myth in New York City. There are many examples that can refute this idea, but I do think that it may be applied to certain things. After volunteering for one day, I may have believed that I had created change. In fact, I could have basked in that belief for the rest of my life, assuming that I never visit the park again. Yet coming back, I saw exactly how big of a problem litter was. I too began to believe that some things could never change.
