Reflective Essay On Homeless People

Growing up, I was fortunate to live a fairly comfortable life. My parents were both college educated and had well-paying jobs at Boeing in St. Louis. My three siblings and I lived in a good neighborhood in one of the top school districts in the state, and we had everything we needed: three meals every day, all our supplies for school, and the ability to participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities throughout the year. Living in that neighborhood, however, did skew my view of how the world worked. While I understood that there were some people who were homeless and struggled just to get one meal each day, I didn’t comprehend the sheer amount of people, just in St. Louis alone, who fell into that category.

From that point on, my mindset was always the same, "Someone else will help them out, and they’ll be fine." Visiting the homeless shelter changed all that for me, seeing so many people who, clearly, were not being helped out by people who could afford to help. I couldn’t understand why people were content knowing that people were living this way, not even knowing if they’d get to eat again. All my problems seemed extremely unimportant, and I was focused on what I could do to make a difference in these people’s lives. Even though I wasn’t really doing much, every time I passed someone asking for money, whether it was a charity or someone in need, I tried to spare a couple dollars, or at least some spare change. I now knew that as much as I wanted the latest game, there were people out there who just wanted to eat, and it didn’t seem fair to me that they should be denied that because they’d fallen on hard times. I made an effort to go out and work with my grandparents more for their charities because I wanted to help out in every way that I could,

However, because it informed me about how large homeless was in the United States, as well as shaped my view of how charitable society should be, that homeless shelter in St. Louis has shaped my view of the world more than any other place. All the images have stuck with me throughout middle school, high school, and during my military career, and have truly shaped the type of person I try to be today. I donate a small percentage of my paycheck to various organizations each month, and if I see someone who’s struggling to get by and I have some money to spare, I’ll give them some change or offer to buy them a small meal. Over time, my view of the world and of society has changed directly because of experiences like these. As a society in general, I believe we focus too much on ourselves, and we get upset when we can’t make certain purchases, without thinking of those who really don’t have a penny to their name. I’m aware now of how widespread poverty is, especially compared to what I used to believe. Without a doubt, because of the places I’ve been, I’m now more informed about our society, and looking back, no place has made more of an impact on me than visiting that small homeless shelter in St.