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May 31, 2011

College Student / Phoenix University

High school graduate / Santana High, ROP (regional occupational program) graduate, Vista Adult School, Currently attending Phoenix University online. Completed 1st year/June 2011

This channel is not about me. It is about encouraging others to open their eyes and hearts to those who are without.

Life is the best film of all because it's real.

Forget books. I have something more important to talk about.I am not ashamed to say that I have experienced homelessness at one time or another in my life. Since the passing of that time I have taken heart to the issue. I realize that sometimes it takes experiencing a feeling to respect it. I could lose all of my possessions and breath easily because I know from the experience of having nothing that it's not possessions that make us who we are. People and time is what matters the most and makes the difference.I know what it feels like to be stuck out in the cold with no place to go, swallowing my pride to ask for help, no food to eat, hiding my belongings in a bush because I didn't have a closet, no one to trust, witnessing the dark side of the streets, being judged for my circumstance, praying for a safe place to sleep so I could wake up to another day. That experience has made me a stronger person but will haunt me for the rest of my life. I survived that storm. More importantly, it has brought to my attention an issue that should not be ignored. It is becoming more noticeable each year that the majority of society is "walking away" from the issue of homelessness. Why are there so many people who just refuse to stop and help the needy? Yes, people have and do donate food and clothing for the homeless. There are shelters available. However, there isn't enough help to go around. A majority of society is too busy thinking about themselves to consider others. Why aren't people doing more to improve the condition of homelessness? Why did someone just walk around that man who is laying on the sidewalk covered with the same newspaper their passerby just read two days ago, as if he or she is without feeling? Not every homeless person is to blame for their situation. Not every homeless person is an alcoholic. a drug addict, or disabled. They have a story and a purpose just the same as everyone else does. If only those stories and purposes could be acknowledged and set to a solution instead of just ending up as another statistic or story to tell. All homeless people deserve an opportunity to be saved, regardless of their circumstance. Why do people complain about the so called "inconvenience" of homelessness when they are not willing to help? For every extra house (not needed) that is bought, a handful of homeless people could be sheltered. For every toss of uneaten food, many homeless people could be fed. How can we call ourselves "one nation" or even a circle of society if we set ourselves apart from pieces (unfortunate souls) of a puzzle (human race) that we are all connected to? If you can imagine for a moment, what it would feel like to stand in a homeless person's shoes, would you "walk away"?