Homeless Shelters

Improved Essays
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “who made the biggest impact in your life?” are questions that I could answer from the top of my head. “What’s an experience in your life that helped shape the person you’ve become?” is one of those questions that requires little critical thought. Because volunteering at this homeless shelter changed my entire outlook on and attitude toward life, it didn’t take me that long to figure out that it was an experience that happened to shape the person I am today because I began to cherish life so much more, it taught me the responsibility that I’m pretty sure every parent craves in a kid. Also, I have a much more positive outlook on life.
For some people, however, this may be strange that volunteering at a shelter could shape someones life, it definitely did for me. We live, and so many people in the world question their existence. Most people knew exactly what they wanted to do, then there’s me, I was a lost on a road that hasn’t been traveled. When I was in the building full of homeless people, I saw nothing but sadness in their eyes. The moment my heart broke for them was the moment that the words “maybe you should appreciate life more!” screaming from my mom, had hit me harder than anything. Life is so precious, anything and anyone can be taken from you in a blink of an eye. Me, I never realized that. A man at the shelter, who I had spoken there (I will never forget him) had told me some of his experiences that he had encountered living on the streets. After ending the story, the last couple things he told me was to always cherish life. Which indeed taught me to never give up, no matter how hard the obstacles get that it’ll only get easier from there. I had felt that just one conversation turned my life around. My life went from dark purple skies to beautiful blue skies in a short amount of time. Some kids get what they want without trying; however, I have to earn for what I want.
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Growing up as a kid, I never really got what I wanted because I didn’t have the responsibilities that my parents were looking. The only responsibility I had was to focus on school and that’s exactly what I did. Seeing all the homeless people, to be really honest, scared the bejeebers out of me. In life, to get what you want, you have to earn it. And that was exactly what my parents were trying to teach me. I saw how happy they were when you do something helpful like a small little gesture. It made me feel so good inside; indeed, it was an indescribable feeling. I began to do little thing around the house for my parents, such as: washing the dishes, mopping the floor, and cleaning bathrooms. I didn’t do it just to receive the things that I wanted, I did it because I loved seeing my parents happy. Receiving the things was just a plus for me.
“Ever heard of thinking negatively is a waste of energy?” it’s true, I was the type of person who had and “I don’t care” mentality. I would always try to find the negative side out of almost everything. While volunteering I came across this male name Joe (who also I will never forget). I asked him a couple of questions and one happened to

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