On Saturday I teamed up with some of my best friends from west campus to volunteer for Into the Streets. Our job was to help clean the cemetery and clear a path for the run that takes place there every year to raise awareness for the cemetery and its historical value, and to raise money for its upkeeping and restoration. While it was hard work, and my back and arms hurt for days, we definitely managed to have fun working together to better our community. And through the rain and the blisters it really put into perspective that things happen outside of the bubble we call Cornell University, and that our community could greatly benefit from our banding together more frequently to improve the community in which we live. Volunteering is always time well spent, even though it’s easy to say that we don’t volunteer because we’re too busy. I always feel really good after giving my time to a good cause. I hope more Cornell students, myself included, will be more involved in Ithaca in general–it’s so easy to forget that the outside world exists, and so easy to overlook the difference we could all make.