When I joined my sorority, I found out that I had to have so many volunteer hours per semester. While I kind of shot off the idea for a while, I remembered that I also loved to help others. However, with college being such a busy time anyways I thought it was somewhat crazy to require such a large number of hours.

Finally, I realized that while I am also in college, I need to also continue to help the community that I live in and love. At first, I started volunteering at the Humane Society because I thought it would be easy hours. Cleaning cages, feeding the animals, and making sure they had everything that they needed. As I have continued through the levels of training, I have come to realize how important volunteering at a shelter can really be.

Some of the animals have been in the shelter for a long amount of time and haven't had many interactions with people, usually because of age. I have seen at least 10 kittens and puppies in the last month in and out of the shelter within a week while some of the older cats and dogs have been there for at least two months. Two months of being in a small cage with little interaction, that's where the volunteers come in.

Right now, I am mainly focused on cat socialization. I go in for about an hour four times a month and just spend time with the cats. Sometimes they sit in my lap and take a nap or they just want me to grab one of their toys and let them chase it around. Either way, as soon as the cage opens you can see a change in a cat's attitude.

While this volunteering helps out animals, it also helps me out. Growing up around animals my whole life and then moving to college without any was more difficult than I would've imagined. Having the stress of high school times 100 and not having a cat or dog to cheer you up can be rough.

Going to the Humane Society each week has helped lighten the stress as well as give me something to look forward to. Whether that is needing to sit and relax with a cat or play fetch with a dog, it can help make my mood better in almost every way.

To anyone that is thinking about volunteering at an animal shelter, I highly encourage it. It is a great way to give back to the community as well as take some much needed stress from your everyday life.