I began volunteering at the Naperville Area Humane Society over the summer to fill up some of my summer boredom with productive activity, and admittedly, to continue racking up service hours. The Humane Society had recently undergone renovations to increase the size of the space and thus the capacity of animals they could take care of and were in need of extra volunteers. That’s how I became a volunteer at the shelter.
My first shift at the shelter was quite the learning curve. I had gone through a brief 30-minute training the week prior, but cleaning the entire cat wing for real was a far more formative experience. My grandpa always used to say that the devil is in the details, and I don’t think I quite understood what that meant until that day. I view cleaning the wing as not 1 large task but an amalgamation of about 30 smaller tasks. Each task needs to be completed thoroughly but efficiently. There is so much to do, but that does not mean corners can be cut. If that happens, the cats’ health and wellbeing are put at risk. I learned all that on the first day.
I have been a volunteer at the shelter for 3 months now, and here are a couple of the lessons I have taken away so far.
Lesson #1
Drop whatever preconceived notions you have about a person before you get to know them
Now, you might think this is an obvious lesson, but if you take a bit of time to think about all the judgments you make about a person before you even get to know them, you might realize that these primary judgments can have a real influence on your interactions with the person. I came to this realization when I met Christine, another volunteer of middle-age with a thick German accent and a habit of smoking. During my first day, Christine was very friendly. A seasoned volunteer of almost 5 years, she graciously took the time to show me where everything was located and reminded me of little tasks I might forget about such as wiping down the bars of the cages. After about an hour of cleaning, she popped her head into the room I was working in and asked, “Are you okay in here? I am going outside for a smoke”. I nodded and she turned to go outside. I rolled my eyes as she walked away, thinking to myself how sad it was that she smoked because I was really starting to like her, but I couldn’t be friends with a smoker. I have grown up in a household where smoking is looked down upon, and I am thankful for that because smoking is harmful to one’s health. I think that I also developed a habit of subconsciously looking down upon the people that do smoke, judging them for making such a poor life choice. During our lunch break one day, Christine said to me “my smoking does not harm anyone but myself. If someone is drunk and they get in a car and crash into someone, they have harmed themself and someone else”. If someone drinks alcohol, I don’t immediately write them off, yet I did that with someone who smokes. Who am I to judge someone about their life choices when it pertains to only themself? Christine has chosen to smoke, and I choose not to agree with that lifestyle, but I can still be friends with her despite these differences in opinions.
Lesson #2
Take the time to appreciate the people that keep public spaces clean
The shelter depends on volunteers to clean the entire building, from the cat and dog wings, to the lobby, to the bathrooms, to mowing the grass on the property. I did not appreciate clean floors in a school, in doctor’s offices, or really any indoor building open to the public until I was the one sweeping and mopping them. The manual labor required for cleaning is exhausting, and I didn’t garner a true appreciation for the people who do it every day until I was cleaning the floors of the cat wing on a regular basis. So take this as your sign to go thank the school janitor next time you are leaving the school at 8 at night and the janitors are still there, ensuring that school is a pleasant place to learn.
Lesson #3
Cats are like people
Some cats are more outgoing than others. Some cats are more grumpy than others. Some cats are more self-sufficient than others. People are like that too, and they are all valuable.
Hi Willow,
Thanks for sharing about your experience volunteering at the shelter. I’ve considered fostering kittens before and so I know that it is definitely a lot more work than is let on! We’re often fooled by the cuteness of puppies and kittens, but there’s much more to taking care of them than we think sometimes. I liked how you included a variety of lessons- not just simply something about the behavior of dogs or cats, but also about the value of people. I completely agree that it’s important to have a gracious attitude; there are so many people who work hard to keep our spaces clean. These people work behind the scenes though, and rarely receive the thanks that we deserve. This definitely made me think about how I should be more appreciative and try my best to pick up after myself or grab litter. If everybody does this, we can keep our spaces so much cleaner!
Additionally, I thought you made a really good point about making snap judgements. I’m definitely guilty of this and sometimes I don’t even do it on purpose- it’s merely something that’s happening in my subconscious. Your post has inspired me to think more critically about keeping an open-mind.
Hi Willow,
I loved the way you formatted your blog! The fact that you explicitly listed out each lesson highlighted by the italics made it really easy to follow along and keep track of.
I thought all of the lessons you learned were also incredibly thoughtful. The first one, though so simple, is an important reminder to all of us. The first thing we all do when we meet new people is make snap judgments, and your anecdote is a great reminder to us all to keep those judgements in the back of our head, and not to immediately dismiss someone. I also related a lot to your second lesson. When I started working my current job, I didn’t realize how much effort went into keeping the building clean, but after going through a few closing it really started to sink in how much work went on behind the scenes. The last lesson was my favorite. Although I am not a cat person, I still do really enjoy cats as well. This lesson was something I had to go through as well. When I got my dog, I expected him to be very social and outgoing with other people, but instead, he surprised me and actually was very timid around people, like a typical cat. Your blog was truly a pleasure to read and I hope to hear more from you!
Hi Willow,
I think it’s super cool that you volunteered at the Humane Society over the summer. It is clear that you are a hard worker and a compassionate person. I like how you talked about the importance of not judging others for preconceived stigma. I realize that “not judging a book by its cover” is kind of a cliche but it is so true. I pride myself on being a relatively nice and inclusive person however, I often find myself subconsciously judging people despite the fact that I don’t know them at all. I think that a lot of the assumptions I make about people are things that society has subconsciously conditioned me to believe. I love your last point as well. So many people don’t realize just how individualistic cats are. I have four cats and I can testify that they all have unique quirks and personality traits that set them apart. Our oldest cat, Henry, gets very cranky around lunchtime if his afternoon nap gets interrupted and our youngest cat, Nemo, will eat anything and everything that resembles food. Anyways, thank you for sharing your experience while volunteering and I loved reading your post!
Hello, Willow. I’m really glad that you’ve decided to tell the story that you’ve just shared. Normally, when I think of volunteering, I usually think of nursing homes, or tutoring people, that I had almost forgotten that helping animals is just as important and helping people.
When I read through your experiences, I immediately became extremely jealous. Throughout my entire life, I’ve always been an avid cat person. Although I never had one, I would constantly invent excuses in elementary school to visit cat shelters and play with them, and the experience was more often than not, absolutely delightful.
However, what was far more important were the takeaways you’ve had. Most people, when blogging, usually center their focus on one key message, but you’ve managed to hit 3. Color me impressed.
Some of your key point delivered some general messages, but just because they’re general doesn’t undermine their importance. Reserving judgement of other people and grant out appreciation when due are critical mindsets to possess when dealing with society in general. And empathizing with cats. Obviously.
I also liked how you managed to create an overarching story of you first joining this organization, which ultimately split off into a small mini-series, each filled with a quick anecdote leading off to your lessons/takeaways. You’ve managed to capture each story perfectly, balancing length, importance, and message within your words. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end that always leaves the reader with something to think about.
Thank you so much for sharing your work, and I hope you keep it up!
Hey Willow!
I thought this blog post was adorable. I loved how you added the images of the cats because I am a little bit of a cat lady, so it gave me that much needed boost of ~serotonin~ to see a giant blown up photo of one. There are several crucial points that I’m really glad you bring up. The first being that we should appreciate the custodians in our school more. I think this point cannot be emphasized enough because I too took advantage of the clean facilities at school, never really stopping to realize that floors actually don’t clean themselves. It takes manual labor to clean up after thousands of sloppy teenagers who sometimes have a little too much free time on their hands. (Like the nice “messages” that are often left on the bathroom doors).
Second of all, I really loved hearing your story about how your experience at this shelter changed the way you viewed other people and helped change you into a more open minded person. I think improving yourself from a job or experience is the most valuable takeaway you can gain from something and it really shows that it was a wise and worthwhile use of your time.
Great post, Willow! Having respect for public spaces and the people who clean them is something we should ALL embrace!