Just hit 50 hours of volunteering at the food bank and I'm the odd one out

Everyone else there is all about the feel-good stories and helping families. But honestly? I started doing it because my boss told me it'd look good on a promotion review and I needed something to pad my resume. I expected to hate it and just clock in the time. Now I'm at 50 hours and I keep signing up for more shifts. The funny thing is I still don't get all warm and fuzzy about it. I just like the routine and how organized the whole operation runs. It's like a well-oiled machine and I get satisfaction out of sorting cans faster than anyone else. Has anyone else gotten into volunteering for totally selfish reasons and then weirdly stuck with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy_park7626d agoMost Upvoted

Start sorting faster than anyone else and suddenly you're the weirdo who actually enjoys the whole thing for the wrong reasons. I feel like half the people who volunteer secretly get a kick out of the logistics and just don't admit it because they're supposed to say it's about the warm fuzzies. Honestly, organizing a shelf of canned goods into perfect rows is way more satisfying than pretending to cry over a heartwarming story. You're not odd, you're just the only one honest enough to admit the machine part is fun. Keep showing up, beat your own speed record, and let everyone else have their feelings while you crush the inventory.

mason_foster6826d ago

Honestly the part about "crush the inventory" really hits home. There's something deeply satisfying about seeing a messy stack of cans turn into perfectly organized rows, it scratches an itch in your brain that warm stories just don't reach. No shame in admitting the real dopamine hit comes from beating your own speed record, not from some fake Hallmark moment.