“Who wants to be the first one to try?”

Not me.

I stared at the floor, not making eye contact. Maybe if I didn’t look at the instructor, she wouldn’t pick me. Then I heard three words that I have remembered ever since.

“I’ll do it,” said one of the older girls in my dorm as she stepped forward.

With those three little words, I learned not to be afraid to volunteer.

It was my first year at Philadelphia Youth Camp (pyc). As a first-year camper, I had the sort of deer-in-the-headlights feeling that most kids experience. As an Edmond native, I had grown up around pyc, but actually being a camper was a lot different than I expected. I felt a little uncertain of myself at first, and I struggled with a fear of doing something wrong or embarrassing.

Our dorm was in the John Amos Field House gym for our first basketball instruction class. We were split up into three groups—dribbling, passing and shooting. My group had reached the shooting station, and we watched our instructor demonstrate how to correctly shoot a basketball. With perfect form, she sent the basketball sailing through the air and into the basket. Then she turned to us and asked who wanted to be the first one to practice their shot.

For a few tense seconds, you could have heard a pin drop. No one wanted to be the first one to step up. Most of the girls in our group were young, first-year campers, and we were afraid of messing up in front of everyone. We kept our hands down and looked at the ground, at the other groups, at the hoop—anywhere but into the eyes of our instructor. Don’t pick me.

“Come on, don’t be shy—someone has to volunteer,” the instructor said. I could hear the impatience creeping into her voice. As I looked timidly around at my dorm mates and then back at the floor, I realized that I should be the one to step up. Even though I was young, I still had a responsibility to set the right example. But I was too afraid. What if I mess up? I’m not all that good at basketball anyway. I’ll just let someone else volunteer. My hand stayed down by my side.

Finally, a girl stepped forward. “I’ll do it,” she said. The tension relaxed as the instructor handed her the ball, and the rest of us watched her shoot it into the hoop. We formed into a line behind her and took shots in turn.

For the rest of that class and the rest of the day, I was troubled by the memory of that moment in basketball class. I felt ashamed. I should have volunteered instead of waiting for someone else to do it. That was no way for a teen at pyc to act. We were supposed to be learning to be leaders, and I had wasted an opportunity to practice that. I was really disappointed in myself. The truth is, I had been too afraid of what my friends might think if I made a mistake.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Volunteering is just another way of giving to others. It seems that no one wants to be the first, but as soon as someone volunteers, everyone else joins in. It’s a way to lead, and it’s a way to set others at ease.

Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” It’s easy to fall into the trap of fearing the opinion of our friends so much that we can’t follow the give way. I needed to not care so much what my friends thought, but what God thought.

I decided that from that point on, I would try to be the one to volunteer. I would raise my hand to answer questions during dorm discussion time. I would be the first to try out some new skill in sports class. I would carry the laundry bag when no one else wanted to. It was really hard at first, but each time I did it, it was a little easier. I realized with surprise that it felt good to volunteer. It wasn’t this big scary thing. Sure, I didn’t always answer the question right or spike the volleyball straight over the net. But as I found out, that doesn’t really matter.

Next week, many of us teens will be at pyc. Camp is a great time to make volunteering a habit. Try it out in your dorm and in your classes, and see how much of a difference it makes. Your camp will be more positive and uplifting than it would have been otherwise.

If you’re not going to pyc, or even if you’re not a teen, this lesson still applies. Try it out in school, at work, or at home. You’ll be glad you did. I certainly was. Ever since that basketball class at pyc, I have been grateful to that girl who stepped up. She volunteered, and by her example, she taught me not to fear stepping forward.