I’m not a fan of Gen Ed courses. I feel that they are a requirement that distracts from the actual degrees that people want to obtain. Although an engineer could be served by understanding human biology or Van Gough’s paintings, I do not feel they should be a required part of the curriculum. So much of this information is freely available online, through resources like YouTube, Wikipedia, and Khan Academy. But instead, I have to pay $300 for the class and another $150 for the textbook. Maybe if these classes at least just utilized the free resources, like my Political Science class did, I would feel like it is more worth my time. But I already knew the majority of what came up in the course through self-education. 

This class hasn’t really changed my opinion. It wasn’t run poorly. The teacher set up the modules very well, and the discussions were interesting. But not $450 worth of interesting. I have had much more fascinating conversations over reddit for free, and have learned from many of the same resources the teacher used, like Crash Course. But John Green didn’t charge me a bunch of money. The slight silver lining is that this made me go out and do a few things I was putting off. I always try to use my paid volunteer time, so going to the food bank helps. My catholic friend wanted me to try going to a mass, so it was nice to be able to do it for class. But I could have also do so for free. 

I don’t mean to know the humanities as a whole. It is important to understand cultures, history, and art. If I had been able to take this class as an elective, maybe I’d have had a better experience. But being required to take it left a sour taste in my mouth. After completing the class, not much has changed.

I volunteered at the Utah Food Bank. I sorted the donations that food bank receives from all over the state of Utah. I went there on August 27th for about two hours. The Utah Food Bank provides food to families in need. The center I went to is the center hub for most of Utah, and the food that volunteers pack gets sent to pantries all over the state. When you volunteer at the food bank, they set you up at a table next to a giant box of food. You then have to pull the food out and sort it into various categories like baby food, canned vegetables, canned meats, etc. You put the food in boxes, and put the boxes in piles. If you’ve ever packed for moving, it is basically that but with life nourishing food. Typically, you are grouped with other volunteers, but I spent most of the time packing things on my own. There was a company who were all volunteering together, so they stayed pretty insular until the end. After you finish, you just get to walk out. Typically, the shifts are around and hour and a half, but I got there early and stayed a little later. 

Ideally, doing this would have connected to helping our fellow community. The whole idea of humanities is that we learn to empathize with others, especially others who we different than us. There wasn’t a specific Module on altruism, but lots of focus on helping others. For example, in the religious module, on overarching thing was that people should help each other. Governments are also designed around communities, and usually account for people in need. This wasn’t religious or governmental, but was still about helping others. 

However, the real thing that stuck with me was how much waste there was. Mounds of canned food, which probably cost a dollar per can, being given away because our society is wasteful. If, instead of going to Costco and buying 6 cans of tuna for a dollar to throw in a box, we gave that money to the organization directly we would do so much more good. Packing and sorting food takes time and money. But with the money, the Food Bank could buy things at wholesale prices. The amount of waste I sorted made me sad. I probably touched thousands of dollars, and that could have done so much more good as the dollars. 

As far as freedom goes, people cannot feel free if they are worried about staring. But volunteering and sorting food, I was helping take some burden off of peoples’ shoulders so they can focus on more important things. As someone who’s family has needed to get help from them before, I know the struggle of not knowing where your food will come from. This organization does a good thing by alleviating the struggle. I just wish that society as a whole would be less wasteful. We would have this problem locked down tight if people wouldn’t waste so much money. I know I keep harping on that point, but it’s true. Money is freedom. Money can buy things, like food and shelter. But why do we need to make the food bank a middleman, and force them to sort our discarded scraps so that we can feel warm and fuzzy inside? I know if feels good to carry a heavy pallet of cans, and drop it into the box in front of your friends so they know you are one of the good people. But just sending them the $25 dollars would be the better, and more moral thing. So is volunteering your time. But if you want to show off to your friends, then please throw those cans down. 

In spite of my above epiphany, I did enjoy the experience. I already donate money to the food bank, and it was cool to see haw my donation was spent and how volunteers helped things move along. It was nice, simple volunteer work, and helping people always feels good. I’d have been doing homework or playing video games if I didn’t volunteer, so it is a good use of my time. The only issue was getting there. I take the bus, and work a full-time job. The food bank is nested away in manufacturing buildings, and takes a bit to get to. I don’t mind the walk, but it does limit my ability to get to there in order to do it again. I had to take a half day off in order to make it there. I had volunteer time to use, so it was fine. But if it were easier to get there, I’d do it more often. But I will still continue to always donate to organizations about that. Because money makes the real difference.