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For many AmeriCorps members, a year of service means early mornings in classrooms. For Caitlyn Johnson, it meant paintbrushes, teamwork, and transforming spaces into something beautiful.��

After supporting students in schools during her first year with �鶹��Ƶ, Caitlyn joined the Los Angeles Civic Engagement (LACE) team—dedicating this year to creating murals, leading beautification projects, and sparking unexpected moments of joy on school campuses.��

In this thoughtful reflection, Caitlyn reminds us that success in service isn’t always about big milestones or perfect stories. Sometimes, it’s found in a shared laugh, a thoughtful gesture, or a student’s quiet curiosity sparked by color on a wall. And those moments? They matter just as much.��

Read on for a moving reminder that every act of service—no matter how small—has the power to create change.����

“As the year ends and we all get into a reflective mood, at least for me, I find myself asking ‘what have I done with the past year of my life?’ And, like all of you, I’ve heard many people tell me that I dedicated it to service, that I worked tireless hours to change kids’ lives. And sometimes, it’s hard for me to believe that. Or at least I lose sight of what big change I’ve actually made.������

Last year I was an ASO at Pio Pico Middle School, and this year I’ve been a part of the Los Angeles Civic Engagement team, and so sometimes I can’t completely relate to the classic stories of what �鶹��Ƶ is. I don’t have a tidy ‘Starfish’ story to tell you. I’m sure some of us do — and you should be proud of the work you put in to achieve that — and I’m sure some of us feel like we could have done more, or at least are so dazed and tired from not only 50 hour weeks but fires, politics, and funding cuts to really comprehend what we just did.�� ��

But what I think about when I look back, what I’ve learned to hold on to, are the little moments where I’ve been able to make someone’s day less bad. I think about when I went out of my way to get a student their favorite candy and she thanked me; I think about when I showed a student a meme I thought he’d like and he told me he laughed about it with his friend later; I think about seeing kids stare at a mural we’re painting because it’s something new and interesting; I think about all the times I’ve joked around or played board games with my team. And I think about all the teachers and TA’s and murals and friends from when I was in school that didn’t change my life in any way I can point to, but, to me, made each day nice enough that I’d want to keep going.������

So even if you don’t have a lot of numbers or even thank yous to show you what you’ve done, if you made someone laugh or gave a kind word, that’s what you’ve accomplished. And wherever you end up, hopefully you can look back on a few of those moments and know that they meant something. So, whatever’s next for you, good luck, take care, and congratulations on making it to the end.”��