Today, we went to the Cherry Street Mission and had an experience unlike any I've had before. I had never been there, much less the area it was located in. The area around the Mission is kind of run down, and it's in a place where people don't have much money. There's a lot of homeless and impoverished people that live around the Mission, so it's location is pretty well-chosen . I have to admit though, I was the a little anxious to go to the Mission. I wasn't sure I would be comfortable around all the people, since some of them have a history of trouble. My experience turned out to be a lot nicer than I thought it would be, though.
First, we spent a good part of our time helping the employees in the back prepare lunch. I got a sense of what they were like, and I realized that they were really nice, caring people. It felt nice to know that my work was actually going to help feed someone else. That's one of the best feelings- knowing you're helping someone stay alive. And although I really dislike tomatoes, chopping them up with my classmates was pretty fun too.
I think that this experience was more meaningful to me because never before had I had direct contact with the homeless.This trip showed me that it can happen virtually to anyone- young, old, man or woman. I think I saw every walk of life at lunch today. It was pretty eye-opening to see how our world is so much different from theirs. Even as we were driving to the Mission, the environment changed really fast and was a much different atmosphere than what I was used to. I'm really lucky to have a roof over my head and food every single day. It's really sad to know that these people aren't able to get that on their own. I think that everyone needs to do their part to help these people out. Hmm, potential service learning project, anyone?
By: Asma Elgamal
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