1st day in Atlanta

One of the things that we did today that I really enjoyed was simply going out and feeding the homeless. It was amazing to see how many volunteers were present (excluding our ASB group). When I first came here, I had a stereotypical image of what a homeless person is. I thought homeless people were all on druggies or alcoholics and did not want to better their own situations. However, after this morning's activity, I realized that homeless people are actually just like us; they are going through a rough patch in their lives and just need love. I also realized that homeless people can be of any ethnicity and can be very educated, as well. This morning, I met some very interesting people who had lots of interesting stories and some of those people were well-educated and wanted to improve their situation; some were actually taking relative measures to make that happen. I really liked that they were somewhat religious. It's amazing that after all that they've gone through and are going through that they can still remember God. I think that if I were to become homeless, I would lose all hope and would be completely devastaed; but these people that I met today were very hopeful and they had faith in themselves. I remember that when I would ask some of these men and women how they were doing, they would reply by saying "I'm blessed." They were just so gracious and so optimistic that it's almost heartbreaking. All of this makes me think about how unfair life can be. But it also makes me think that this could happen to anyone and it's not about fairness; it's about testing your faith and testing your destiny. I feel like as long as there is life, there are always going to be trials, and while some trials may be harder than others, it's important to remember to keep doing the best that we can. It's when we completely give up that we're in trouble. After this amazing experience today with the homeless, I feel so grateful for all that I have and I'm so thankful for my family and friends because I realize that not everybody can even have that.