A Life Dedicated to Service - Thoughts? Suggestions? Warnings?

At the risk of sounding cliche, I was a dealt a good hand in life. I have a loving family, friends, a good education, and a lifestyle that millions would consider ridiculously luxurious.

For a while, I considered myself blessed, but now that I'm an atheist that label doesn't fit. And when I deconverted, when I couldn't say that a god or gods had a plan for me or gave me all this happiness because I deserved it/was meant to have it, I was massively guilty for having a good life - which is dumb, and I've largely gotten over it. But over the years, I decided I couldn't be completely content if I wasn't working to share my happiness. I realize I'm only fifteen and my opinion is liable to change, but for now, I'm fairly certain I want to dedicate my life to a worthy cause or causes. I want to play my hand so everyone wins.

There are a couple problems, though:

1. I'm overwhelmed by all the options. Do I join Peace Corps? The Red Cross? Habitat for Humanity? World Food Programme? Or should I become a doctor and provide free care? A therapist? An environmental scientist? What skills would I need for these, what would my life be like?

2. I have selfish desires too. I want the time and money to read, watch TV, browse the Internet, and relax with family. I might even have kids one day. I can't think of how to reconcile that with my dream of traveling the world saving lives. Is my goal only possible for ultra-saintly, self-sacrificing people?

I guess I'm just turning to you guys for direction and a way to balance my life.

Your enthusiasm is encouraging to me.

A lot of the stuff you wrote in your first list of options are valid and noble.

And it's fine to have personal time for you.

Jesus, kid. You're fifteen? When I was fifteen my primary concerns were girls and music.

Not that your ideals aren't noble, but I think you should take some time to grow up. Your options will seem a lot clearer-cut in a few years.

EDIT: That wasn't meant to seem unhelpful or curt in any way, just... Things change a lot between 15 and 18.

edited 15th Dec '10 3:04:01 PM by DanEile

The thing is, you have to pick something that you're going to enjoy doing. No matter how much good you're doing, if you hate your job you are going to go crazy.

So don't pick something because it will 'do the most good'. Pick something because it will do good, you enjoy it, and you are passionate about it.

What are you good at? If there's an effective charity which does that, then your best option is probably to work for them. Otherwise, it may be best to earn as much money as possible doing what you're good at, and then donate a lot. There's nothing selfish, dishonourable or lazy about giving money rather than time.

On a side note, I sincerely hope that you remain as altruistic as you are now when you are an adult. The world needs more people like you.

Also, definitely nothing wrong with making time for yourself. You do nobody any good if you drive yourself insane.

edited 15th Dec '10 3:13:05 PM by benj

@Dan: I know. And it's not like I really can do anything when I live with my parents and have to go to school. I'll probably go to college, too. And my parents, understandably, are not too thrilled with the idea of me not making much money and going to Third World countries and such. I don't even know if I want to be that hardcore about it.

It's just that I started thinking about what I wanted to do with myself after college, and I noticed that none of the traditional career options seemed to interest me. We just had to do a career project in Driver's Ed, so I've been researching. Charity is one of only two things I'm really passionate about. The other is writing, but at this point, it's way too optimistic and unrealistic to expect to make a living writing books.

I'm still really confused about where I want to go with this, but I want to do something to give back, you know? You're probably right, maybe rethinking this at eighteen would give me a clearer picture.

@Pvtnum11: Thanks! I hope this works out.

Edit: @Loni - thanks for the reminder. Sometimes I forget in my enthusiasm that I would really hate being stuck for long periods of time in the middle of nowhere without a cell phone signal.

@benj: I'll admit, I'm not in peak physical shape or anything, and I should probably reconsider some of the more adventurous options. For me, it would be Awesome, but Impractical. And I was raised to be super studious, and I get good grades, so maybe the most efficient thing would be to just earn a bunch of money and donate it, but I just don't see myself in the corporate grind. (Of course, most executives didn't either, I suppose.)

edited 15th Dec '10 3:18:38 PM by OnTheOtherHandle

If writing is your thing, you're in a good position. I'm a chemist...turns out not too many charities need chemists.

Nonprofits, like every organization, need copy. So if you become a communications major (or something similar), you'll be able to write up press releases, blog posts, that sort of thing; every charity in the universe needs people with these skills. My sister was a communications major and she is now an intern at Bicycle Alliance of Washington. Be warned: Most nonprofit work will involve a slog through volunteer work and unpaid internships before they'll pay you for anything.

If it sounds up your alley, people like the Peace Corps are also always looking for English teachers.

P.S. You're not to young to look around for volunteer programs you can do in your free time. Logging some hours at your local food bank or library or whatever will look good on your resume and it'll help you get a sense of what you're interested in and what this sort of work is like.

And props to you! We need more people with your attitude.

edited 15th Dec '10 3:32:11 PM by jewelleddragon

If you're academically minded, do you think something in the medical field would suit you? Doctor, dentist, pharmacist, vet. There are plenty of opportunities for those careers to do good, and they tend to make decent money too.

Hey, look I wasn't saying don't do good if you want to. The world does need that. Just don't be one of those people who grows up too fast and then complains about not enjoying their childhood enough.

@jewelleddragon: I'm in some volunteer clubs right now, but mostly we're just unpaid labor. -_- We organize things for races, cut off the runner's tags when they come through the finish line, pick up their cast-off clothes, that kind of thing. It's not exactly charity.

One thing I do like, though, is when we do a Santa Claus event. We're all elves and we get to work with little kids.

Being unpaid labor is one of the steps.

Wait a second...I'm still unpaid labor...

Hmm, you're right. While I don't really think we're helping good causes, I do think that it's helping me, personally. Learning to deal with pissy customers, learning to stand your ground while being polite...I think of it more as job training, not volunteering, though.

^ It's both.

Well, if you have any clue what you're good at, what you're passionate about. or what you like to do, I'd encourage you to find a position where you could use them to help others. Not that most fifteen year olds have any idea what those things are, but meh. *shrugs*

Also, you don't actually have to stick with just one of them — if you try one and it doesn't fit, go ahead and try another one. This is also important to note because you don't have to spend your entire life doing it ether, which can work in any number of ways.

Maybe you could travel the world and help people throughout your twenties, but can settle down and make a family by switching over to work in a single community. Or maybe, as I've heard of some doctors doing, you can spend most of the year working normally, but for a week or two every year you can travel to a third world country and do what you normally do out of your own pocket. Or you can just start out by doing some volunteer work while you're still in school, and dedicate your summers to traveling and helping people on a more full-time basis. There's a lot of different ways you can go about giving around other aspects of your life.

I do have a word of caution, though. Do the research and be sure that if you don't go with a big name program, that whatever you're working for is legit before you leave the country. I know of at least one guy who had to be bailed out by his family after getting stranded away from home that way, and it does not sound like fun in the least.

^Oh wow, that sucks. I'll be sure to research carefully.

My parents would probably be pretty happy with the suggestions to become a doctor, but...ten years of school...

Find what you love to do. Find people who'll pay you for it. Make lots of money in as ethical a manner as you can. Invest in stuff microcredit for third world entrepreneurs, or alternative energy, or independent science funding for small research labs that don't wanna go corporate, or stuff like that.

Invest in enlisting in the US Army. Look at the bright sides of military service: see nice places, do things that actually matter, you get paid while doing so, and unlike the Navy and Air Force the Army ain't full of assholes.

Note: Some poeple will criticize you for what you choose to do, or won't offer thanks for your help. Don't let them discourage you.

Well if you're fifteen right now, I suggest you figure out what you are good at and like and obtain the best possible education for that and then move onto your more noble pursuits. Universities themselves provide more avenues for you to help the world because there's a lot of like-minded individuals with a high amount of skill. For instance, University of Waterloo started Engineers Without Borders.

I would only do what Major Tom says if you're into that because joining the military is extremely different from doing NGO aid work.

edited 16th Dec '10 3:03:25 PM by breadloaf

Well, I can understand not wanting to do 10 years of uni for a medical degree. Not everyone has the sort of mentality needed for that sort of thing.

Yeah but a medical degree is very rewarding and allows many more options especially with respect with doing aidwork. You can do much more as an engineer, doctor etc than you can without any professional degree.

As much as the military can deploy quickly to an area and help secure the area and get initial aid going, that's not their primary job. the primary job of hte military is for national defense - a very vital job, and it does entail a lot of service.

Sometimes, a lot of pointless service, like painting rocks or sweeping the grounds around the barracks.

There are other noble things that you can do.

You have time to consider these things.

You don't have to convince me; I'm in the first year of a five year degree.

But I don't think medicine is the sort of thing you go into with a lukewarm attitude. It's full of stress.

Once you have a degree, though, there are all sorts of charitable things you can do. Even something like a veterinary course has opportunities for helping humans. For example, there's that TV vet who treats the dogs in Aboriginal communities, which reduces disease transmission.

I've always wanted to take a first aid course - like an advanced, semester- or year-long thing, not the one or two week stuff we get taught in school. I'm thinking of taking the Red Cross course this summer. Maybe I'll look into nursing, since I want to know how to dress wounds and administer vaccines and things, but I know I don't have the mental strength required to be a doctor.

I'm much more certain about what I can't do or won't do than I am about what I can do or like to do.

@Major Tom: I'd always considered military service to be the kind of thing for buff, athletic guys, but I'm starting to change my mind. As part of a series on careers, we had this tiny, thin middle-aged woman come in and talk about being in the Army. But I don't know - what could I do in the Army?

Edit: One of the things I'm thinking about that wouldn't require another job to supplement the income is being an environmental scientist. This started mostly because I loved my eco-warrior biology teacher last year, and I'm getting increasingly pissed at how much energy and money our school wastes with its inefficient lighting and temperature control.

And next year (when I can drive! ) I'm hoping to be able to volunteer at the hospital, so I'll see if I get interested in the medical field.

edited 16th Dec '10 3:34:27 PM by OnTheOtherHandle

^ What would you want to do? Women in combat ain't quite there yet so you'd have stuff like medical, communications, logistics, accounting, MP, quite a few jobs in other fields actually.