Luck High School

Luck, Wisconsin

Teacher: Barbara Peterson

 

 

 

The Role Of Personal Responsibility In Improving
 The Quality Of Life In Our Communities Today

By Erika Peterson

 

Each person in the community needs to take part in making it a better place. We all have it in us to do good and to help others…There are many ways one can make the lives of those in the community better…. Small gestures can mean a lot…People who wave, smile or even say hello to those they pass on the street, without even realizing it, may be improving that person’s life for the day or even longer. Firefighters, EMTs [Emergency Medical Technicians] and police are major helpers. Business owners can be very important too…. Becoming a mentor, helping plan a community event, or participating in a community event—the more people who take part in such activities the closer the community will become.

 

I do activities in my community that I feel are improving people’s lives. I am in the youth group at Bone Lake Lutheran Church. We plan and teach bible school every year, and have an annual sock hop. …I also try to work at our church’s fair booth every year during the Polk County Fair. I am not only involved in my own church, but I also teach Pioneer Adventure Club at the Evangelical Free Church in Frederic.

  

I play softball in the spring for school and also throughout the summer. This provides entertainment for all ages, and keeps my teammates and me busy.

  

Probably the most important thing I will do for my community is to become an emergency medical technician…I think it is important for me to do this for my community because I will be helping others. I could help save a life by doing pre-hospital care. Another involvement that is important to me is my participation in the Red Cross Youth Corp. We hold fundraisers to make money for those who have lost their homes due to fire, to help with the costs of the homeless shelters, and to help those who have been through a natural disaster. This summer we were in a couple of parades. We also hold blood drives. It is something I enjoy doing, and I hope to be able to continue to be part of the Red Cross through the years ahead.

 

Youth are important to the community. Youth need to be supported and praised when they are doing positive activities. Without support and praise it can be easy to slip into activities that aren’t so great, but are getting more attention. Teenagers are often stereotyped as being wild. They are often labeled as having sex, smoking, and doing drugs. Yes, some do, but credit needs to be given to those who don’t. For those who are involved in harmful activities, they need to be shown the way out. Most are not just going to wake up one day and decide to get out. They need to be given a reason and be shown that there are better ways. They need to be supported in the time that follows the quitting of the harmful activity. Adults of the community are a key to this. By getting involved in the lives of the community’s youth, one is helping them and the community. Be a friend to a child and he will be a friend to you. Youth not only learn from adults, but adults can learn from youth. By making friendships and doing activities together, children will be off the streets more. Youth will have more respect for those around them, and this will make the whole community a better place.

 

The quality of a community depends on those in it and what they are willing to do for it. It takes the young and the old working together to make a community the best it can be. I once read a quote written by an unknown author that said, ‘The most likely place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.’ People need to start taking a step to do their part, and if one starts, more are sure to follow.”