Asma: Journal 8

Day 8 (November 9):

The Woman Who Spoke to Us

Today, we took a last-minute trip to the Sparrow's Nest. Our other plans fell through, so we were lucky we were even able to go. I think that a lot of the things I saw there were meaningful and important for me to be exposed to. Honestly, though, I feel like this was a disappointing experience. I felt like the women were rude and wasteful. But I feel like I can't blame it on them- I have no idea what they had been through in their lives. Some probably had suffered at the hands of domestic violence, drug abuse, or worse. Some of them seemed bitter and inverted, and I felt like their behavior was probably justified. There were women who were pretty nice though. One woman in particular made it a point to come back up to us and talk to us for a little. She told us that the opportunities we have are endless, and that we should always work our hardest and strive for success. She actually confessed that she had struggled with substance abuse, and had lost her house, her children, her job, her car- everything- because of it. It was so heartbreaking to hear that coming from her. I could tell that she had come to terms with her actions, and she was trying to inspire us to make something of ourselves instead of making the decision she did. It was probably one of the most touching experiences I've had so far. What kind of put a damper on it however, was that I watched more than half of the women go up to the trash after they "finished"eating and wasted at least half their plates. That kind of bugged me. Food should be considered a blessing, not something you haphazardly throw away. Anyways, I think that the Sparrow's Nest was good to see. The trip exposed me to something I'd never really seen first-hand before.

By: Asma Elgamal