The Benefits of Taking a Service Trip During High School

A contributor reflects on their personal experience in Bali.

We find ourselves so wrapped up in our own lives—which generally do not stray far from the comfort of our own home—it can be hard finding new, exciting, rewarding experiences.

Maybe it’s time for this to change; to experience something new.

At the end of 2016, I went on a service trip with my school and fourteen other students to Bali, Indonesia. This opportunity opened my eyes to many aspects of life I did not know existed, and changed my view of the world. The trip, most importantly, pushed me outside my comfort zone, as I began helping and interacting with communities who did not live a comfortable life.

I went wanting to know if it was possible to help change the lives of others and to help those who are not as well off as myself. I knew I would be walking into some confronting environments—such as the Suwung Rubbish Tip Village, where the poorest Balinese people live among the rubbish—and this was definitely a contributing factor to my initial reluctance, alongside the emotional drain I expected the trip to have on me.

However, I knew I could not shield myself from the truth of how some people live. The environments some Balinese people live in are very much real, and as much as some people wish, they cannot be fixed by ignoring them.

The trip included plenty of 5am starts, late nights, physical exhaustion from painting in the small rooms at the orphanage, emotional exhaustion from experiencing and hearing about people’s stories and situations, long bus rides where much needed sleep was recovered, and heat stroke from the endless days in Bali’s hot temperature.

That is the stripped-down, unsugar-coated reality of what it was like to be on the service trip. However, as bad as that sounds, it’s not those memories you take away from a trip like this. What you take away is the unique relationships you make with the people in Bali and the people you went with, as well as the life-long skills and confidence gained from helping others. Most importantly, trips like these can empower you to keep helping people in the future, knowing you can indeed make people’s lives easier with your actions.

Plenty of schools now offer service trips, and if your school does, I highly encourage you to take up the opportunity. However, if your school does not, organisations such as Projects Abroad and GVI are just a few that offer service trips all year round.

However, before embarking on a service trip, you should consider whether you are ready to face some confronting situations, as you will most likely be stepping into a community below the poverty line.

If you are considering this, I would highly recommend you take the opportunity, as the trip you will embark on could lead to one of your most rewarding experiences ever.

Ciara Burren is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. See more student contributions here.

Photo: Ciara Burren