Two years ago this December, I began taking bag lunches to downtown Charlotte to aid homeless people. I was inspired after participating in an activity called "Room in the Inn." The Room in the Inn provides a place for those who do not have homes to sleep, or a warm meal for an evening. I was not only shocked after participating in such an event, I was ashamed of myself. I was ashamed that I could have ever been so ignorant not to notice these types of people before, but furthermore, I was ashamed that I took every simple luxury I possessed for granted. I learned that the soup kitchen located in the city did not provide sufficient service to those that needed food and a place to say. This was extremely disheartening. Charlotte, just the one year before had been voted the "Third most unfriendly city to homeless." At the time, I was two years less mature and needless to say, I was naive. My idea of service was to begin a valiant conquest to make an enormous difference in a huge area. As I began to take action, I started over a vast area of city, and tried to help hundreds of people. In reality, the affect I was

Life is absolutely promised to be difficult. There was never a person who lived a life of complete and perfect happiness at all times. I am thankful for those times that I have struggled because I feel as if they have taught me. I am glad that on a few occasions I have stepped outside of my comfort-zone and dared to experience. I am certainly glad to have done this in going downtown. My aspirations often interfere with what I truly need to accomplish. But, on one occasion, I was willing to neglect all of my expectations from others and act strictly from my heart. In his essay entitled, "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, "My life should be unique; it should be an alms, a battle, a conquest, a medicine."(p553.) This quote covers about every base possible for successful living. By no means do I believe that I have accomplished that which is stated by Emerson. However, I can say that I am trying. I want so much out of life. I learned countless lessons from very simple people who did not even posses their own homes. An enormous percentage of the people I met were addicted to some sort of illegal substance. They had lost their jobs, they lost their families, their pride, their respect, and in most cases, they had lost themselves. I was constantly overwhelmed with a feeling of irony when I was downtown. I prayed so many times that there was some sort of medicine I could give these people. I wanted to help them so badly. I wanted to give them something that would make all their problems go away. But, for me, they were my medicine. In a selfish way, I knew that I gained so much more from our interactions than they ever could. Each person that I met was on a per

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Approximate Word count = 1128
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)