The Homeless in DenverThe lightly falling snow gently landed on the soft-looking ground around me as I walked through the downtown street in Denver. I was not used to walking under all the gigantic buildings. It seemed so amazing to look at all the unfamiliar sights. After admiring all the scenery and tall buildings, I realized there was a very large amount of something else too. My heart sank as I witnessed all the homeless people trying to survive and get through the cold. Seeing how all the homeless people had to live during winter in Denver, Colorado, taught me to be grateful for all the items and people I have in my life. The trip all started when we were loading on the bus from the Vo Tech. Our FBLA group was heading to Denver, Colorado, for our National Fall Conference for FBLA. We had several people from Chillicothe going with us, but along the way we picked up other FBLA members from other towns. The trip seemed to last forever, but we finally reached Denver. We unloaded off of the bus as fast as we could and got our rooms in an extravagant hotel. Our first day was a day we could use to relax and get used to the area. I went around the hotel with some friends ,and we were told by our supervisors that we could go out and adventure around. I was pumped! I walked out those large spinning doors and passed under a heat blower that reminded me of the hand dryers in the bathroom. It was beautiful outside. There was snow lightly falling onto the powdery ground.The area seemed bright and calming. I loved looking up at all the humongous buildings and looking down at all the people walking around. My friends and I thought it was truly amazing. We started walking down the street and admiring all the people and stores that we were not used to. Denver had free bus rides that went up and down the street that had our hotel on it. It seemed odd to us at first because we were from such a small area, but we eventually took the buses. We had no adult supervision, but our supervisors made sure we were always in groups of at least two people when we went out. It started getting late so we went back to the hotel and got our clothes prepared for the next day. The group woke up the next morning and had to be dressed in suit pants and button up’s for the day. We had to go to business seminars hosted by people of diverse backgrounds. Afterwards, we went out on the town again. This time, it seemed gloomy and cold; I had to grab a coat so I wouldn’t risk getting sick. While walking around the second day, I realized that I had not even noticed the extremely large number of homeless people in the area. There were homeless people all over the place. The amount almost seemed unreal. I felt terrible looking at them and wanted to help them all, but I just was not able to force myself too. I was not used to being around homeless people, and it honestly made me feel uneasy. Some of the less fortunate were completely ignored by people passing by, and it made me feel terrible for them. I even noticed a few of them trying not to be spotted digging in trash cans, so that they could retain some of their dignity. While all these people were scrounging for whatever they could get to benefit themselves, my friends and I were walking around in very nice dress clothes and not even being thankful for it. We had to stay a couple more days in Denver, and we went out almost every day we were there. The day before we had to leave, I went to a Mcdonald's down the road from my hotel and bought a surplus amount of food. I got full very quickly ,and I didn’t know what to do with the rest of it. That was when I noticed a man sitting down in old, dirty, outdated clothes with tears all over them. He was black and had a patchy white beard. He was just sitting there doing nothing staring at the ground. I walked over to the man ,and he continued staring at the ground. I got his attention and I offered him my leftover mcchicken and fries. He said I didn’t have to do that for him, but I insisted that he take it. I watched as his eyes light up as he took the yellow wrapped sandwich from my hand. It was amazing how this man could be so happy to receive something so little as a mcchicken and fries, I thought to myself. He seemed so happy to get food while I take it all for granted. It made me realize that we have access to items in life that some people would love to be able to access, but we are not as thankful for it as we should be. Homeless people don’t want to be homeless, but when you get down that low it is very hard to get back on your feet. Before I headed back to the hotel that day, I gave a homeless man five dollars. His eyes lit up the same way, and I felt good about myself knowing that I had a chance to help someone who would really appreciate it. I have become thankful for everything I have in life, and if I ever begin to forget that then I just think back to Colorado. Seeing what conditions the homeless endured in Denver made me thankful more than ever for my home, family, and friends. |