A TIME YOU HAD A MEMORABLE INTERACTION WITH A STRANGER
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When I was a university student there was a homeless encampment about a mile from my school (yikes, I know). As homeless people were a problem in the area, law enforcement made all of the residents of the encampment disburse. As the homeless population in the area migrated to other parts of the city, a group of them found their way to the parking garage of my apartment. To make things even better, my car was parked in the last parking space making it the closest car near the group of homeless people. At the time, I worked in a restaurant and worked dinner shifts that finished at 10:30pm. By the time I got back it would be close to 11pm and pitch black. Rightfully so, each time I parked my car I was nervous to walk past the people to the stairwell that led to my apartment. I was nervous to walk past them night in and night out until one day I decided to give them my leftover for for the week instead of throwing it away. When I brought the food to one man he was thankful. Over the span of a few more weeks, I would bring them the food I was otherwise going to throw away. As the days past, our interactions became longer and more meaningful. Instead of just saying “here you go”, “you’re welcome”, I started asking how their day was going. As the weeks went by, I learned about their personal story. The story of why they were on the streets. It was a very interesting interaction to say the least.
xoxo,e