After participating in a sleep out and simulation at Moravian College during Homelessness Awareness Week, I learned a tremendous amount about what it is like to be homeless. Although I am not actually homeless, it made me appreciate the life I live even more than I already have before.
Everyone deserves to live a life full of happiness. It is imperative to live every day like it is your last because anyone can become homeless, at any time. Never judge a homeless person in the city pleading for money, because they are the ones sleeping on boxes in the street during a blizzard with little to no layers, not you. It could be you.
People assume that every homeless person is on drugs, lazy, or that they deserve it. It could be anybody. It could be someone who fought to defend our country. It could be someone who is sick. It could be a CEO of a failed company. It could even be a professor who had it all before a natural disaster destroyed their home. Sometimes these people we see on the streets are working hard at two minimum wage jobs, because it is all they can get. The point is, homeless people could come from all walks of life.
We could all be one paycheck, or one financial or health crisis away from being in the same shoes they are in.
I came to the realization that the life I live needs to be appreciated. I am able to eat food every day whether it be at college or home, when some people are lucky enough to eat one meal a day. I grew up having the opportunity to dance and play soccer, and participate in many extracurricular activities. So next time you want to complain about practice or meetings, just remember to be grateful for the opportunities. To be able to say 'I have home' is enough for me. Not everyone can say that they have a roof over their head. If homeless people can say that it is an attitude, not a lifestyle, then I can say it too.
From participating in the simulation for just one night, I picked up on the fact the being homeless does not define who someone is. What they eat, where they sleep each night, and what they wear, does not make someone who they are. I slept on a box that shared someone's real life situation, so every time I wanted to complain about being cold I would look at the story and remind myself that some people do this every night. The difference was, I had many layers and blankets, when they do not. I was able to use the bathroom, but actual homeless people use whatever they can possibly use at that moment in time. Homelessness is not a choice.
I'm not asking anyone to donate to a homelessness or give up what they had. I just want people to rethink homelessness, because they are human and hurt, or lonely. Recognize the full worth of your life, because we are lucky to have a lot that some people may never experience throughout their life.
Appreciate your life, cherish your life, admire your life, and be thankful for the life you live. Rethink homelessness. Next time you walk down the street and see someone who is homeless, remember how lucky you are and never judge a book by its cover.
