I am the type of person who is torn up when I see a homeless person asking for money/food/clothes/etc. on the side of the road. It breaks my heart, even though I have no idea what their story is. But I never stop.
I never stop. Better yet, I make sure not to make eye contact with them for fear that they will judge me for not stopping.
Why am I like this?
My best answer: fear of the unknown.
Let me give you some background information- I grew up privileged. That is really all you need to know, but I will explain.
I was the girl who was born into a "perfect" family. Perfect as in my parents were married before I was conceived, they both had careers which made our family stable and I was given the royal treatment because I was the first-born.
Let's continue: My younger brother and sister and I attended pre-school and from there we were enrolled in a private, Catholic school from Kindergarten until 8th grade. We were in brownies, girl scouts, cheerleading, dance, gymnastics, softball, track, soccer, basketball, baseball and on all of the elite teams to top it off. I grew up in a big house with a huge backyard filled with several beautiful decks, handcrafted by my father and a big swimming pool with a swing set behind it. Like I said, we were a privileged family and that was because we had/have parents that gave everything to give us a beautiful life. They worked hard and they still do. I am very lucky and very blessed.
It wasn't until I traveled to the great state of Kentucky for college that I got to see how the rest of the world was living. Surprised?
Here's the catch: until college, I would have NEVER considered myself to be privileged. If anything I was the poor kid who didn't get a brand new car the year I turned 16 (even though I was handed a used car--completely paid for), and I didn't have the Abercrombie and Fitch jeans with the North Face jackets because my parents wanted to ruin my social life. Yes people, I was--what you would call--a brat. There is no shying around that fact and I will own it.
It just took me a while to realize that.
I now live in the midst of the Appalachian Mountains, an area most commonly referred to as Appalachia. More specifically I live in Whitley County, which in 2013 was labeled as "Distressed" in the County Economic Status and Number of Distressed Areas in Appalachian Kentucky, Fiscal Year 2013.
From what I have seen in my 5 years here, distressed is probably an understatement. This community, the things I have experienced, heard about and seen here are enough to break anyone's heart 2 times over.
How can I possibly understand what it feels like to go without?
I cant. But that is what I have seen. Children here go without support from their families, from anyone. They are truly alone in the world. They are seen as "troubled" or having "behavioral" issues during school because they were never taught how to behave. They act out to get attention, attention that they never got from their parents. Can you imagine that? I can't.
Growing up, I never saw what it meant to struggle, to not have support, to not be able to afford a winter coat or socks & shoes during the winter. I never had any friends who had a "bad" home life.
The worst I ever saw was friends whose parents were going through a divorce, which is horrible I admit. Those parents still showed love to their children though, just separately at that point.
I don't know about you guys, but my parents took us to get a brand new winter coat every single winter. I've seen kids here who wear flip flops and short sleeve shirts when there is snow on the ground, not by choice.
The sad thing about these kids' lives is that they have no control over their situations. A lot of the time its the parents that are spending their money on drugs and alcohol rather than providing for their children. The face of poverty is ugly and it's a lot more prevalent that I ever knew it to be. Even here, in our "American Dream" country.
I heard a story about a middle schooler who told his teacher he finally met his birth-father. The teacher was happy for the student, until the student finished by saying that it was this past weekend when his mother brought him to his father's funeral. I see children who don't have any faith in themselves because no one has ever believed in them, praised them, loved them or inspired them to be the best person they could be.
People just want to be loved. Deep down, that is our one truest desire as humans: to love and be loved.
God's greatest commandment is to love God and love people. If we only did that, we would change the world, we would change lives and we would give hope to those who have no hope.
That has been on my heart for a while and I wanted to share. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
-Brandy
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