America's strong heritage which allows its citizens the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" has brought about a mindset that each person should work for his own benefit and personal pleasure. While there is nothing wrong with happiness and enjoying oneself, this route to seeking out joy will usually leave people without a sense of accomplishment. A past experience with a homeless girl left me with a belief that true, satisfying happiness comes not from working for one's own benefit but from serving others.
I first saw her at Meijer. I was on my lunch break so I went to pick up a few items. I casually glanced around the place as I munched greedily on the turkey sandwich I bought. The store wasn't crowded, so I had no trouble spotting a tall, dark skinned girl. I took in her gaunt frame. She wore a once black jacket faded to light gray which covered an un-tucked, torn, and sweat-stained T-shirt permeated with a million holes. Her turquoise pants were shredded at the knees and rested three inches above her boney ankle and a pair of black, chewed up shoes. Her steps were as timid as that of a mouse trying to sneak something to eat. She had dusty brown hair which was oily and unkempt as if she hadn’t known the pleasure of a shower or a comb for years. Her eyes, filled with loneliness and despair, were set in bags of black and purple rings two layers deep. Her long, slender nose was set above a full crooked mouth with little lines at the corners giving her face the character of someone who used to smile often, but the firm set of her square jaw revealed a portrait of a girl who knew only failure. Regardless of the undesirable features inflicted upon her by hard times, she was beautiful.
This was not the first time I encountered a homeless person. While going about my business, I usually hear requests for spare change but I pass by without much thought. Having grown up only an hour from a large metropolitan area, I had been downtown enough times...