I went collecting cans for the food shelter, I helped out at the Special Olympics Bowling Games, and in December I volunteered to help organize a competition of 5km for autism and what I have learned so far from my volunteering experiences is that everyone has a story and that we need to take the time to listen to others and connect with the world around us. In my experience you can learn more by serving people for an hour than you can learn in a week of classes. My only regret during my freshman year of college is that I didn't realize this sooner than I did. The most memorable place I ever volunteered was an organization called Let's Start, located in downtown St. Louis. The program works with female drug addicts and past drug addicts, who have been convicted of drug-related crimes, to start a new life. It started as a class assignment where I had to go and do a certain number of service hours, but I soon fell in love with the program. My job while I was there was to let the kids play and help them with their homework if needed. There were some Tuesdays when not many kids showed up and a few helpers were allowed to sit on the table.