Why I quit doing volunteer work for good.

It doesn’t work for everyone, and we shouldn’t push it.

What makes a person good? What makes them a contributor to society?

Most people would answer “giving back.” But how do we define that? Giving to charity? Running for office? Organizing events?

For many people, contributing to society means volunteering. Giving time and resources without pay, because you believe in the cause. Giving of your labors and time. Occasionally, it can mean giving your knowledge.

But all of this comes with one major caveat: Doing all of this for free.

I’m 27 years old and I can’t work for free. Not anymore.

Blame the every-child-goes-to-college culture, where I volunteered enthusiastically for National Honor Society and Sparrow Club only to find that most people were doing so only to boost their college acceptance rates.

Blame the modern church culture, encouraging every member to give for the benefit of the greater good.

Blame the culture of virtue signaling, wherein we’re all supposed to present ourselves as socially minded people. I’m no misanthrope, but I refuse to believe that everyone’s always thinking of the greater good of my society.