This spring semester was a bit different for me. I originally expected to return to Southern Pines Animal Shelter, but it didn’t fit well into my schedule. So instead I began volunteering at Edwards Street Fellowship food pantry. The interesting thing about this is that Edwards Street was the first place I ever volunteered for Luckyday. I had forgotten how much I genuinely enjoyed my time there, but it’s truly wonderful. I did an array of different tasks from bagging dog and cat food, to gardening, to replacing a fence post.

The best part of it all was that I volunteered with two of my friends, Dante and Alexis, two people I was fortunate to meet through my Luckyday class. My time at Edwards Street truly reminded me that there’s so much joy to be found in the small moments. I didn’t do anything particularly exciting while volunteering yet just spending time with people while working always left me reenergized and in a much better mood.

I truly recommend that people volunteer with friends whenever possible. Going back to Edwards Street really gave me a chance to see that no matter how rough things are, taking just a bit of time to help others can make all the difference. This has been a really rough year for me. I lost quite a few people and it left me in a rough place, however volunteering still managed to pull me out of those spots even if it was just for a moment. I am not sure if this is due to the great people I was surrounded with or if it was due to the gratitude that I feel when reminded that I am in a place where I can give back, or if it was some combination of both. All that I can confidently say is that I am thankful for whatever it is and I can not wait to return to Edwards Street.

– Blog post author Anecia Flewellen has completed her second year as a Luckyday Scholar and is majoring in psychology.