Essay Sample on Experience Filing Taxes for Low-Income People

Introduction

Working with people is one of the life experiences that every person has to go through in their lives, whether they are self-employed or publicly employed. It is a good way of introducing oneself to the opportunities of the world and encountering additional problems that sharpen one's thinking and makes them better problem solver. As a volunteer of The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, I was introduced to a wide range of life concepts. My personal experience with the people I served at VITA made me a new person, and by the time I was completing my time at the program, my attitude and beliefs had significantly changed.

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First, working with people at VITA improved my open-minded. I always know I am open-minded especially to the opportunities that present themselves to me. Besides, I was generally a good thinker who always solved my problems tactfully. However, VITA introduced a whole new level of being open-minded. Every day in my job experience, I encountered people from various backgrounds, races, tribes, and ages. They spoke different languages and had different demands. Each wanted their issues to be solved as they saw fit. They did not care or mind about the laid down policies that the program had given to them. I was therefore forced to re-evaluate my tactical skills and more open-minded to solve their problems. My decision-making abilities, problem-solving skills, and general life skills improved. I was quick in the decision I make and it most cases, all the choices I made impressed my clients and the bosses (Christensen & Woodland, 2018). It was amazing how I could come up with the choices I made within the short time that I had with every person that came to me. Once I encountered a former social worker who had not filed his tax returns for over three decades because he did not understand the process. When he came to the office, he was very pissed because he had been highly fined. He did not want to listen to any person. Instead, he insisted that we must remove the fine before he could talk to any person. No one was then willing to talk to him. However, I realized he was just in that situation due to his ignorance. I managed to calm him down, and we had a fruitful conversation. By the time he left the VITA offices, he was a satisfied man.

I also left the program with improved social relations abilities. Making new friends has always been a challenge to me since I do not like being in the position of approaching the other person. However, as a worker at VITA, I realized that contacting people and talking to them is not a bad idea after all. Many people are afraid of approaching others especially the opposite sex. The program, therefore, boosted my confidence, improved my communication skills, and made me a good listener. This was because the cases I handled were presented to me by people from both sexes, different ages, and from various cultural backgrounds. One day I would be talking to an African man, the next day I would be talking to a Brazilian lady. However, all of them had the same or related issues, and I had to listen to them and help them in all the ways that I could. During the process, I learned the secret to forming social relations with people. As a result, I have been able to increase the number of my friends, improve my work relations and most importantly improve my relationships with my family. I know how to talk to people and sympathize or empathize with them when they did it. It is a good way of showing that you care about their problems (Christensen & Woodland, 2015).

Lastly, I have become a better financial controller. Previously before I joined the program, I believed that I would start my savings after getting a good job that would pay me more money than I can spend. However, as an interacted with people during the program, I realized that my belief was a false fallacy. I noted that most of the rich people I encountered during the program started their savings plan when they were around eighteen years and were barely making any income. Additionally, they had a strict budget control that prevented them from impulse buying in addition to wasting money on projects that promised no good outcome. It was such a good experience that has since allowed me to take control of my finance. At the moment, I have adopted a saving plan, I have a budget control, and I do not waste money as I did before I joined the VITA program (Skogsberg & Warren, 2018). I believe it is my first step to being one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Conclusion

In short, The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program has been an avenue of improvement in my life. It has transformed my attitude and beliefs arising from individual groups status, treatment, opportunities, or accomplishments. At the moment, my creative, decision-making, problem-solving, social relations, and financial control abilities have all been perfected, thanks to VITA.

References

Christensen, A. L., & Woodland, A. (2018). An Investigation of the Relationships Among Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Participation and Ethical Judgment and Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 147(3), 529-543.

Christensen, A. L., & Woodland, A. M. (2015). Is participation in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program associated with students' problem-solving skills and professional commitment?. Issues in Accounting Education, 31(1), 71-90.

Skogsberg, A., & Warren, A. (2018). Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA).