I've been some kind of depressed since like April. As I am wont to do. Last time I pulled myself out of it by making and selling art I was proud of. I just kinda did the same thing for two years which got depressing. You can only stencil so many Avengers and Batman logos before you ask yourself what the fuck you're doing no matter how clean your airbrushed edges are.
I was watching this TED talk that explains addiction as maladaptive bonding
and I thought of replacing pouring booze onto sadness with helping people and hopefully meeting people I like (outside of people on hubski, of course).
There's a huge geographical component to available volunteer work but does anyone have a direction for me to look? I live in the Atlanta area. I enjoy teaching things I know like carpentry. I don't enjoy large groups. I also don't enjoy people as a rule so volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity store is one example of something that's out of the question.
Why? Do you feel that people are rude? That it's too much of an effort to be worth it? Advice is autobiography, but I found that what has helped me the most is working and being with other people, even people that I don't especially care for at the onset. There is an organization that I worked with, All Hands, that is looking for help with the flooding in South Carolina. This organization attracts quality people, from all around the world, to their relief efforts. They have a storied past. You'll have to provide airfare, but they will cover all your expenses when you're there.I also don't enjoy people as a rule
A lot of time I can find that I do like many different people for varied reasons if I am forced to associate with them daily. My boss is so different from me that'd I'd never see a reason to interact with him if not for business but having been kinda forced to deal with him I think he's the greatest example of a Christian I've ever met despite our differences. I work in retail. Most of my experiences with people are superficial and annoying. Working in retail and being hostile towards small talk is bad. I think if I found the right volunteer work I could connect with people who share my values and I could have a deeper understanding than "Well, I can overlook this other bullshit." All Hands sounds interesting but I'm hourly so I need something that I can do after hours.
I've raised two seeing eye dog puppies. One in middle school, one in college. There is no easier way of bringing a concentrated dose of positive emotion into your life. Once you get beyond potty training that is, but it takes literally an afternoon to do that properly, two days tops. I highly suggest checking out this group. They are very transparent about their process and costs and are always looking for new puppy raisers and foster parents for breeding stock. If you're anywhere near the midwest anyway. I mean, look at this little guy.
I love animals, especially dogs, but I can't do that with my living arrangement. I also think it's important that I help people and deal with them due to my depression generally telling everyone to fuck off. I'd love nothing more than to curl up in bed with a dog and tell the world to fuck off, my puppy loves me.
1) You could always just go by a shelter and play with a dog/cat for an hour a week. Most require next to no training but some require references and everything. Some are truly horrible and others are beautiful. Shop around until you find one you like. 2) This is a horrible thing to admit, but I really could never deal directly with homeless people but I know they need any little bit of a help they can get. And I love cooking so for six months of the year I cook for a weekly meal program. It doesn't cost me much as I only buy the things I can't get from a food bank and it only takes a few hours. So I cook it up and drop it off. 3) As you like carpentry, perhaps the local Habitat for Humanity or similar outfit could use your skills? I would guess most volunteers there know dick all about it and if you could just focus on the teaching of skills and ignore the fact that they may be incompetent but good-hearted, it might be a fit for you..
Buy some board games and go to the local children's hospital. Play games with the kids for a few hours. Everything else in your life takes on a reordering of priorities. And I add the following: be happy, be positive and do not lie at all to these kids. IF things are bad, THEY KNOW. If things are good, THEY KNOW. Let them talk, let them vent, be an older brother to them, not a parent, not a friend even. If you have the resources to get involved with Child's Play and are able to donate an XBOX, Play Station etc, and can spend time with the kids, do it. Don't buy something drop it off and never show up again. Every kid who gets better and leaves the hospital will bring you joy, until you realize you probably won't see that kid again. And there will be kids who don't make it, fortunately not that many due to the advances of modern medicine. It will happen, and there is nothing you can do but work with the ones who are still sick. There are not enough people, men in particular, willing to do this type of work. And if you can volunteer in the middle of the week rather than the weekend, even better. http://childsplaycharity.org/ If you need something to start you off.
Family friends are pretty high up in Big Brothers, Big Sisters. They find that stuff pretty rewarding.
If you are into biking or being outdoors, the International Mountain Biking Association chapter near you probably needs help for trail work. It's what I've gotten into a bit, and it's a great way to meet people without having to do something like Habitat for Humanity. It's a great workout too, and then you can always ride the trails that you build, which is pretty cool. It's a pretty specific niche, but maybe you'd be into it.
I'm really looking for something either important to me or something I can teach to others based on my experience. Short of a full biography of myself I don't think random people are going to just jump to satisfying opportunities. I'd like to teach or mentor, but my specialty would be art and coddling middle aged women into painting roses is the kind of art volunteer teaching that immediately springs to mind. And makes me want to vomit on middle aged women. I've also looked into domestic violence volunteer work despite the comment about vomiting on women. The most happy I've been teaching was showing guys at work how to use a table saw but volunteerism and a handsomely outfitted woodshop seem opposed to each other. I guess I'm saying I don't want to be busy as much as I want to do something I care about. Hubski may not be the place for me to find what I care about.
Maybe start contributing The Archive Team's efforts? There's a lot to learn there, and the things you learn will be useful later on in life.