Sunday, May 9, 2010

Consider Yourself Lucky: By Gab Fama

I am a born and raised Catholic. Not everyone in this world has the opportunity to be raised Catholic. I must say I am proud of my religion. It has taught me that I should love my neighbor, that I should treat people the way I want to be treated, and that everyone around me is my brother or my sister. I did not choose to be Catholic, but I am glad it was chosen for me and because of it I have a heart for homeless people. Not everyone is as fortunate as me. I take that for granted a lot. I have a roof over my head and a place to sleep, food on my table and water to drink. I am blessed by God.

I have never actually been fortunate enough to have an encounter with a homeless person. The only thing that has come close to it would be when I went on a Midnight Run with my school to bring food, clothing, and toiletries. Even then I was still too scared to talk to the person. I tried to but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I remember I was with my friend and we were both scared. We had not pictured the even to go the way it did. I just felt that the homeless people were being greedy. There had been people who had gotten no clothes, food, or toiletries, but then some people got double. I just thought it was wrong. How could you be so selfish when you know the person next to you has the same living conditions as you? It just took be by surprise. This video that I have posted below really shows what life is like of a homeless person. In the beginning you will see that not everyone feels bad for homeless people. They feel that they put it upon themselves because they were lazy, I guess they might have a point, in a way.


Follow this link to see what a homeless person goes through on a daily basis. You will consider yourself lucky after seeing this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shiXCC9CaP4

4 comments:

  1. Wow, it amazes me that regardless of what conditions a person lives in they are never satisfied. I know that even with all the blessings God has given me I can sadly say I always find something else that I want. As sad as it sounds it is the truth, the same goes for people that are fortunate and people that are less fortunate. When God has blessed you with a family, a home and an opportunity to a better future we become blinded by material possessions that seem to brain wash us all into thinking that the material objects is what brings us happiness. When people are homeless they begin to only think about themselves they do not care what condition or situation the next person might be in as long as they get what they need. Neither of these two examples are the ways we should be living, we need to look out for one another and treat each other fairly, with consideration and love.

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  2. This post brings me to a point that I made in the post about the dangers of being homeless. Most homeless people only look out for themselves. They do not worry about others around them. They are willing to do whatever they need to do in order to survive. If that means hurting another homeless person then that's what they are going to do. We can say it's the wrong thing to do but until we are in their position I do not think it's right for us to judge the homeless. Like Gab said, we are very blessed to have a home to go to every night, and food on our plates. I truly believe that God has blessed me with a lot in my life. When I was 17 i actually got the word Blessed tattooed on me. I really believe that I have been blessed. Unfortunately I still catch myself acting selfishly sometimes. Always wanting new things. Sometimes I just have to sit down and really appreciate everything that I have because one day it could all be taken away from me.

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  3. I can also relate to Gab when she says proud to be raised as a Catholic. I am Catholic myself and being a part of this religion has taught me many things; to treat other they want to be treated, to care for less fortunate, to be yourself in other peoples shoes, to treat others equally, etc. As for the homeless I have a big heart for them. I might not truly understand what they are going through but I could imagine me being homeless and having many struggles with it. I don’t know how many homeless can deal with this and pass by this every day. Being a homeless person puts you in many positions and one of them is looking out for yourself. Even though God has taught us to be kind and care for others, being homeless puts them in the opposite directions. It leds them to be selfish and very greedy. But I can also understand where there coming from because they have absolutely nothing so when they see something that they have never have before they want full possession of it. I am blessed for what I have and I will always keep the homeless in my prayers.

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  4. I believe that being raised as a Catholic makes a huge difference in how you see life. I was born and raised Catholic, and would not want any other way. I was always told to be grateful for everything i have. Many times we overlook the things we have and dont know how to appreciate them. I always thank god for everything i have everyday because not everyone is as fortunate as others. I will never understand why it is that homelessness is going on and is such a huge problem, but i really hope this all ends someday. Ever since i was younger i have been donating food, and clothing to the homeless. I love the feeling of when you help others because you really make a difference in their lives. Whether its by a smile, a dollar, a slice of pizza, or some clothes, you make a difference in someones life and make everything so much better for them.

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