What Volunteers Learn

People often say that volunteers simply give their time in order to help others. Those who volunteer usually describe it differently: they say they receive more than they give.

人们常说，志愿者是拿出自己的时间去帮助别人。而做志愿者的人往往说法不同：他们说自己得到的比付出的更多。

A student who teaches children to read learns a patience she did not know she had. Someone who serves meals at a shelter discovers how thin the line between ordinary comfort and real need can be.

教孩子读书的学生，会发现自己原来有连自己都不知道的耐心。在救助站分餐的人，会看到「温饱」和「需要」之间的界线有多细。

Volunteering also teaches a practical skill that no classroom and no textbook can provide. It shows how to work patiently with people who have not chosen to be in the room with you.

志愿服务还教给人一项课堂上不给的技能。它让你学会怎么和「并非自己挑选」的人共事。

None of this appears on a diploma, and none of it can be bought at any price. It stays because it was earned slowly, through hours that nobody was paying for.

这些东西一样都不写在文凭上，也一样都买不到。它之所以留得住，是因为那是用没人付钱的时光换来的。