Every day someone loses something. You are probably thinking about your lost cell phone or car keys that you will more than likely find in an hour or less. Others will think of the loved ones that are now resting peacefully watching from up above. Then there are the people that will be lucky to read this because they literally have nothing, but the clothes on their back. Those beggars on the street, the people with children walking around in dirty clothes and unkempt hair, those people have truly lost everything. Imagine your life without a bed to lay in, without blankets to cuddle up with in the middle of the night. Imagine losing it all and then on top of that losing your family as well. Not to death, but imagine having your children ripped away because you cannot get the money or stability to give them the life that they truly deserve. They are not dead, but they are nowhere to be found to you because of what you cannot do. How did your image come out? Most people answers are not good, and as of January of 2015, 564,708 people were actually living that image.

A lot of people will not be able to picture homelessness, but I once was at the less severe end of not having a home. All throughout my life I was constantly in and out of apartments all over the Worcester area. I have stayed with family members over and over again. I never stayed anywhere long enough to make friends, I never could remember the names of where I lived, and worse of all I could never understand the reason why it was happening. From a child’s point of view, the world was spinning ever move. The we had no home at all and we had to stay in a shelter. The shelter could have been worse, I will never complain because It was a place to stay, which not many people do have. We stayed there for a while until we were able to find a place to stay. There were other children and other families, all with their own stories. All of the people there were woman with children, except for mine. We were there with my father and two other sisters. We kept our living situation to ourselves though. The little friends we did have we would not tell, to a kid that was not something we wanted to share. After the shelter we still moved a lot, my dad had not learned. Eventually the stress got the best of him and my younger sisters were not just homeless and hungry, but we were also parentless. Of course things are different now and that is because I had a strong family that was willing to make sure we were okay.

I know a lot of you had and have no idea who I am, or know any of my stories, but most of you have seen me. Some of you have talked to me, others just have bumped me or walked past me in the hallways. None of you would have guessed that one point I had nothing. The point is you will never know who is who. Some are too proud to admit and others are just trying really hard to get out. Treat everyone how you would like to be treated in a situation, because your words might be the last that they hear. Your words can be what inspires them to do better and make everything okay.