Part Two:
After more than half an hour, all of us felt accomplished at whatever we were doing. Whether it be sweeping or mopping the floor, packing or distrubing carts to the needy. I went to Stephanie and asked her if she needed help with anything and she told me to clean the windows. For about five minutes, I sprayed and wiped the windows inside and outside of the building. It wasn't bad but it wasn't a fun job. As soon as I got done I went to Stephanie again and asked her if there was anything else she needed help on. She replied saying that lunches were needed to be packed for the homeless so off I went and started packing with another volunteer.
The other volunteer who helped me pack lunches was Eddy (or something like that, I forgot his name haha). We started talking and I asked him the usual questions such as where he goes to school, what grade is he in, etc. When I had seen him earlier, I already jumped to the conclusion that he was a junior or senior because he was very tall and built. However, his answers to my questions surprised me... He told me that he went to Robertson and that he was only THIRTEEN. After finding out how old he was, I asked him why he was doing community service and his response shocked me even more than the past ones. He replied by telling me that he got in trouble in school because of possession of weapons and gang-related issues. Hearing this from a thirteen year old definitely made me think about certain things. First, I couldn't believe that someone as young as him is already affiliated with gangs and is able to possess weapons. I would hear about and see young kids that are in gangs but I never got to talk to one until now. This interaction made me realize that you would never expect what kind of people you'll encounter anywhere. When I started volunteering at Tri-City, I never thought that I'd be meeting different kinds of people that did community service for different reasons. This time was very special from the rest of times that I've volunteered. It made me see a whole new perspective of how these community service places really worked.
No comments:
Post a Comment