To be honest I was not exactly excited before this trip began.
The first semester of Bonner service, I had come across a lot of situations that tugged at my heart strings that lit a fire of anger and doubt for all the suffering in society. I struggled with understanding how society could go on so selfishly unconcerned with the well being of others. I also became very frustrated and confused about our types of service. I felt like I was giving hand outs, temporary solutions that didn't really make an impact in the long run towards solving a solution. Today that view was changed.
After handing out hot dogs in a park with a large amount of homeless people looking for their bus or doing other tasks, we quickly ran out of food. The gratefulness of some and unappreciative attitude of others did not surprise me at all. My "aha" moment came later on when Mer shooed me away and told me to go talk to someone. Quickly grabbing Abby and Cailah we walked across the street to approach a stranger.
Veering left towards the bus stop, we all seemed skeptical of what we could get out of what was to come. The first person I saw to my right was a man seemingly around 40 years of age. Without hesitation I began to walk towards him. He simultaneously took a step back. As I got a little closer I asked if we could talk to him for a minute. He asked me why. I told him casually we were not from this area and wanted to learn more about the people here. As I read his concerned facial expression I added we were just helping around and were passing around hot dogs earlier. His entire demeanor instantly transformed and he began talking about things here and there that we all instantly related to. We spoke about the mentality of people with regards of how they treat others, especially those less wealthy. We spoke of the gaps in America and how we chose to live life, how our attitude towards others completely changes our outlook. We shared a moment that I will be forever grateful for and was truly amazing. The man spoke of how people preach things without practicing them. The most important thing he said was that our action right then and there, reaching out to him and having a normal conversation as if we were old friends reconnecting was what makes the difference. That was making the change.
We didn't hand a homeless person a hot dog and pat ourselves on the back. We asked another human being about his hardships and experience in this city. There was so much to retain from that conversation that I wish the world could understand or at least witness.
Alfonner love,
Grace
Wow, I never thought of it like this before - that reaching out to them and talking to them, treating them like real people in other words, was what making the change really was and not just handing out hot dogs (although that would have helped somewhat). No one likes being shunted by the rest of society and I guess what is often forgotten is that these people are human too.
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