<p>Overachiever, you are posting just as frequently as I am. Perhaps you are stalking both me and her? Ay, mate. Cool it.</p>
<p>And community service is a great way to give back to the community without giving money, powerbomb is right.
Think this through</p>
<p>The difference is that overachiever isn’t still trying to revive a dead argument and has been posting in a amiable manner.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Right! Why don’t you make a very serious commitment to donate your time? If you’re donating $30,000/yr to charities right now, why not have your whole family spend 300 hours of time next year working at a food bank or soup kitchen or homeless shelter, or doing some other sort of community service? 300 hours at a $10/hour wage would be $30,000, so your money has been converted to a roughly equivalent time. Also, your parents might go for this because donating time is in a way more meaningful than donating money. With money, you can just zip off a check. With time, you have to actually devote yourself to what you are doing and often engage with the people you are helping.</p>
<p>At the very least, perhaps you guys could donate SOME money–maybe 10%, say, or whatever would be feasible for you to go to Yale–and then contribute the rest of however much you feel you “owe” to charity through spending time on community service?</p>
<p>Best of luck and I hope everything works out for you!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, it would be 3000, lol.</p>
<p>She said she has like 10 brothers and sisters or something. Idk. But if everyone put in like 300 it could be like 30k in labor-hours.</p>
<p>It’s a lot easier to write a check than spend hours and hours doing CS. But what is it, anyways? Volunteer full time for like 2 months during the summer. Go on a charity (NOT MISSION) trip to an undeveloped nation for a month or so. It’s a lot better for the people and educational and rewarding for you than throwing a check at them.</p>
<p>The mission trips are often purely charity…my mom went on one that was helping mainly infants and small children, so no “conversion” there 
</p>
<p>Also, the thing is, we already give our time as well…both are necessary…actually, I get in trouble using that word so, morally required by our interpretation of our specific religion that in no way is meant to shame others who make different life style choices. :)</p>
<p>Although I really do appreciate the ideas 
And really our donations are meaningful in their own way…we often buy a goat or other livestock for families in less developed countries so they can have a source of food or income for years. Plus, it’s fun to decide whether to get a goat, chicken, mule, etc. 
lol I’m kidding; that’s not why we do it I find it hard to believe that other families don’t do this…everyone acts like it’s so strange…I know that other people find different ways to help out, but it’s not like my family is weird for doing some of both (giving and volunteering). I found an article that said that on average, people who made between 200 and 500 grand donated $40,746 a year…we don’t make THAT much, but it’s close enough.</p>
<p>But those people dont ask Yale for FA</p>
<p>lol XD really?</p>
<p>OK, this is my fault; I knew better than to start this up again</p>
<p>■■■■■…</p>
<p>I’m starting to think that this entire thread is just some big fat joke, and that this OP just enjoys how much she (or maybe it’s a he…) frustrates everyone. Every single attempt someone makes at a solution, the OP just dismisses it with some excuse. Now, all of a sudden community service isn’t the same thing as throwing money at the problem, and BOTH are necessary to be “morally pure” within this “religion” that the OP belongs to. </p>
<p>Come on, this is just too ridiculous.</p>
<p>Powerbomb, do you know what a ■■■■■ is? It bugs me when people just throw around terms.</p>
<p>But honestly, I may have been insulting in the last few posts, but I have been trying to be constructive sinve about page 9, lol.
Do CS instead of donating money (apparently you have to do both).
Go on service trips (choosing between goats and chickens is more fun).
etc</p>
<p>Have you actually had a talk with your parents? Because they must be really delusional if they find it unbearable to lower charity to like 10% or better yet eliminate it.</p>
<p>The more you talk about your “religion” and how demanding it is, the more I start thinking that you believe in some kind of christianic cult.</p>
<p><em>Sigh</em> I just live differently than you guys do. I appreciate the suggestions and am sorry if you are frustrated because I am not going to do what you suggested. It is not that demanding to ask people to donate time and money. To be honest, idiosyncrasy almost has me convinced that donations shouldn’t play a part in FA, but I an still annoyed by how intolerant some if you are when it comes to how other people live. Since when is it delusional to help people? I hope people at Yale aren’t
this hostile towards religious practices; fortunately, I’m pretty sure they are not. I read somewhere that people tend to be meaner on the internet than in real life.</p>
<p>Also I said the goats being fun thing was a joke…just trying to lighten the mood. I do service trips; it’s not “all of a sudden” that I think this is the right thing to do. I just didn’t mention it before bc it wasn’t relevant. I never said you have to do these things to be “pure;” you’re just using charged language to make me seem like a religious extremist. My family just feels like we should help people. Is that so bad?</p>
<p>For the record, I don’t really “belong” to any specific “religion” in thes sense of following whatever some organization (Main Street Denominational Church) tells me. I do what I feel is right; the only person who “demands” that I do anything is God through the brain that he gave me to discern right from wrong. </p>
<p>Could we just agree to disagree and end on a friendly note of happy holidays? Please?</p>
<p>And overachiever, I DON’T enjoy this AT ALL. It’s starting to make me feel a little sick. I enjoy dicussions, but I don’t like making people mad at me, even if I don’t know them. It would bring me much joy to forgive and be forgiven. I won’t change my beliefs to make other people happy, but I would be very happy if you guys wouldn’t be mad because I believe this way.</p>
<p>Before your family starts helping others, you should help yourself.</p>
<p>What do you mean idiosyncra3y <em>almost</em> had you convinved? He/she DESTROYED your argument. You look like a fool! Yet you arent aware of that? Or are you that closed-minded?</p>
<p>Maybe we arent the intolerant ones. Maybe you, the person who refuses to entertain the notion of “disobeying” your gods, are the intolerant one.</p>
<p>Actually im happy that you wont end up at Yale. If you believe this strongly to an issue (be in religion, patriotism, communism, etc) you shouldnt be at a premier academic institution.</p>
<p>Education is about breaking down the barriers of dogma and growing up intellectually as well as physically. You dont seem to be ready to let go of you “comfort zone” religion.</p>
<p>Learning doesn’t mean agreeing. I am perfectly fine with learning other points of view; jut because I have strong beliefs does not make me closed minded. I resent you calling me a fool and hoping I won’t go to Yale. Plus, Idiosyncrasy’s argument is completely different from yours. He belueves i shouldn’t get any extra FA. You think I shouldn’t donate. You are only making yourself seem cruel. How is my religion a “comfort” religion if people treat me this way? I just am trying to do the right thing, not “obey my gods.” Your diction is very insulting. Also, Yale apparently thinks I should be there. You don’t know me. If you are this intolerant of people actually having opinions, you will have problems later. Have you considered that your opinion is just as strong as mine is? So don’t criticise me for having one. Most people do. You are basically calling me closed minded for disagreeing with you, which is basicallythe definition of YOU being close minded.</p>
<p>I cannot express how sad and sorry I am that I made this thread. I did not know that I would encounter such hostility. Please please please please please let’s stop fighting!</p>