Personal Narrative- Joy in Helping the Homeless
America's strong heritage with regard to allowing its citizens the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" has brought about a mindset that each person should work for his own benefit and personal pleasure. While there is nothing wrong with happiness and enjoying oneself, this route to seeking out joy will usually leave people empty-handed. A recent experience with a homeless man strengthened my belief that true, satisfying happiness comes not from working for one's own benefit but from serving others.
About a week ago, I went to Capital City Mall with two friends to seek out a more enjoyable meal than I would find in State University’s cafeteria. As we approached the entrance to the mall, I saw a presumably homeless man standing near the door. Though I heard his request for spare change, I passed him by without much thought. I had only a few pennies and, having grown up only an hour from a large metropolitan area, I had been downtown enough times to know it's often unwise to even make eye contact with those begging for spare change. Normally, that would have been the end of the story and I would have had nothing else about which to write. But, something inside was nagging at me…I couldn't get the man off my mind. As I ate my meal from Panda Express, I found that there was more food than I could eat. I determined that the homeless man could make more use of the leftovers than the garbage can would. As I exited the mall, I approached the man and told him I couldn't give him any change, but I had some food for him. With shaky hands, possibly due to a handicap or the brisk, wintry air, he gratefully pulled out a Wal-Mart bag for me to put the food in. I slid my le...
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...ry weekend, or have a "good" family to be satisfied. I find joy not in feeling trapped working hard to advance myself so that I can begin the vicious cycle once again, but in helping others and looking out for their needs before mine. Just as in the movie Pay it Forward, where a young middle-school boy affects countless people by carrying out simple acts of kindness for their benefit, I can make a difference in this world by helping out even just one person in need.
Though my beliefs did not change through my experience with the homeless man, the event provided me with a strong, down-to-earth reminder that I don't need to accumulate millions of dollars to die a happy man. Rather, if I simply look for ways to attend to the needs of other people and do what I can to improve their lives, even in small ways, I can be satisfied with where I'm at and lead a happy life.
Today's world is filled with both great tragedy and abundant joy. In a densely populated metropolis like New York City, on a quick walk down a street you encounter homeless people walking among the most prosperous. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten the prosperous person will trudge straight past the one in need without a second thought. A serious problem arises when this happens continually. The problem worsens when you enter a different neighborhood and the well-to-do are far from sight. Many neighborhoods are inhabited only by the most hopeless of poverty - ridden people while others downtown or across the park do not care, or are glad to be separated from them. Such is the problem in New York City today and in Mott Haven in Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace. I have lived in New York City all my life and I had no idea that these problems were going on so close to home. If I live about three miles away from Mott Haven and I am not aware of the situation there, then who is?
Rosenthal, M.L. "Poet of the New Violence". On the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg. Ed. Lewis Hyde. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984. 29-31.
Flax, B. (2011, July 9). The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2011/07/09/the-true-meaning-of-separation-of-church-and-state/
The Modernist era of poetry, like all reactionary movements, was directed, influenced, and determined by the events preceding it. The gradual shift away from the romanticized writing of the Victorian Era served as a litmus test for the values, and the shape of poetry to come. Adopting this same idea, William Carlos Williams concentrated his poetry in redirecting the course of Modernist writing, continuing a break from the past in more ways than he saw being done, particularly by T.S. Eliot, an American born poet living abroad. Eliot’s monumental poem, The Waste Land, was a historically rooted, worldly conscious work that was brought on by the effects of World War One. The implementation of literary allusions versus imagination was one point that Williams attacked Eliot over, but was Williams completely in stride with his own guidelines? Looking closely at Williams’s reactionary poem to The Waste Land, Spring and All, we can question whether or not he followed the expectations he anticipated of Modernist work; the attempts to construct new art in the midst of a world undergoing sweeping changes.
Wood, James E, Jr. "Religious Human Rights and a Democratic State." Journal of Church and State 4(2004):739. eLibrary. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.
In this story, poverty and homelessness is the underlying problem. However another problem discussed is whether or not the potential loss of funding sources to help the homeless justify not standing up against policy that negatively affects the homeless population by causing unjust criminalization (Pg. 100). In my heart, and in a perfect world, I would never want to sacrifice my beliefs of fighting for the greater good of all people, but I understand that it is more complicated than this in real life. There is no doubt that we are all born with different opportunities. Our text explains some of the personal factors that determines who is homeless. Some of the contributing causes of homelessness include addiction, disability, mental illness,
The Myth of the Separation of Church and State retrieved on January 7, 2005 from: http://www.noapathy.org/tracts/mythofseparation.html
What made me dumbstruck was the fact that he didn’t seem sad about his situation. He had an above average height. And looking at his cardboard sign saying “Anything helps! Thank you!” Even though he didn’t get money he waved at bypassing people and cars. I felt as if he wasn’t homeless looking at him but the only then that indicates he’s homeless was his cardboard sign. I remember seeing a kid giving him a dollar. Not only was it heartwarming the guy was so thankful just looking at his face. What made me feel bad for him was that he’s asking money out here when it’s raining almost every day. This made me question myself do I take things for granted? I immediate thought of course not but some days I do because I don’t stop and realize what I have and how lucky I am to have
Of the roles John plays daily, he stated that “Being a homeless man is the main role I wish I could do less often; I would prefer not playing this role at all”, (John, personal communication, October 12, 2015). The sentiment is shared by many of the homeless individuals I have encountered, but not all. John said that this has been one of the biggest challenges he has ever faced, but he is certain this is just a temporary situation. And, from what I can tell from the short time I have known John, this statement is completely
Throughout Eliot’s works, references to Greek epics were used. Eliot was able to interweave the other
I am the type of person who likes to get involved within my community. I engaged myself into this particular program where we mentor young woman and sometimes young men on empowering their youth on making change in their community for the better. Twice out the year we go out and feed the homeless and spread wisdom among them. Every day I would give a homeless person money or change I may have. I came across the gentlemen one day, who told me how I would give him money and a reason to live. He also told me how I would tell him to keep his head up, things will get better. As of today he has his own car, home and a nice paying job. He told me even though he liked Spiderman, I was his superhero. Growing up, how I did makes me realize I could have
Smith, D. (n.d.). Why did God punish King David for taking a Census? Retrieved May 17, 2011, from BibleSudy.org: http://www.biblestudy.org/question/why-did-god-punish-king-david-for-taking-a-census.html
Each day an, “invisible” person wakes up wondering if they will have money to eat or even get something to drink. Waking up puzzled if you will get to eat that day is something nobody, even I could not possibly imagine doing. Most of today’s society will never know the struggle of something of that category. A dollar to a homeless person would be like a hundred dollars to an average person; they may not be financially stable but they make the best of every day they have above ground.
T.S. Eliot is often considered one of the greatest and most influential poets of the 20th Century. Not only were his highly regarded poems such as “The Wasteland” and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” influential to the literary style of his time, but his work as a publisher highlighted the work of many talented poets. Analyzing his poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” with psychoanalytic criticism reveals several core issues in the speaker of the poem, and may reflect Eliot himself.
The argument over the separation of church and state has been an ongoing debate without a conclusion, and has always been a topic to speak on. Many people have strong opinions for or against the separation. While some believe that prayer in school is beneficial to the development of children and of their faith, others believe that it could completely criticize their faith by not giving the student the option to explore their beliefs. In the “Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau, the author is passionate about allowing people to beli...