Lessons From an Unlikely Source by Paris

Lessons From an Unlikely Source by Paris - September 2015 Scholarship Essay

I believe the opportunity to learn and improve will not always take place in a school environment, but can be anywhere such as in the community, in a place of worship, in a local supermarket, or even in a shopping mall. The most important thing is to see the situation as one that teaches something positive, take advantage of the knowledge that comes out of the situation and make sure that ones life will better made better because of it.

I have been a volunteer with the Salvation Army for over six years. Because it is a large organization, I have been fortunate to be involved in several different activities to help people who are in need. Once every month, a group of us would go to the city of Atlanta and visit with the homeless who live on the streets or under the bridges. After feeding the people, we would talk to those who wanted to talk.
On one occasion, I spoke with a young woman who was eager to talk about her life. She spoke of her teen years and said that she came from a middle-class family and used to live a comfortable life. She said that when she was in high school, she loved to read, was very smart and was also in the top 10% of her class. I could tell by the way she spoke and her choice of words, that she was, no doubt, an intelligent person. She went on to say that she had fallen in love with a boy in her class who convinced her to run away with him. Twelve years later, after becoming addicted to drugs, she was unable to work, was too ashamed to return to her family and couldn’t afford a place to live. Her boyfriend had also died from a drug overdose.

She said that her biggest regret in life was dropping out of school and that if she could live her life all over, she would become a counselor and offer support to kids who were thinking of cutting their high school education short in order to live a fantasy. She looked me in the eyes and begged me to remain in school and to never make the same mistake she had made. She told me she desperately wished to be sixteen again, and regretted ever touching drugs.
Before meeting this woman, I had always considered myself an average student and believed my education was important. I never thought that meeting a homeless woman would have inspired me to work so much harder as I am right now. Each time I would feel tempted to postpone doing an assignment or to become lazy, I would hear her telling me not to take my education for granted.

I saw this situation as one where I was given some positive advice, even though it was from an unlikely person. I used the lesson I learned from her, and as a result, have improved my attitude towards my school work. I have become more determined to succeed and made a promise to myself to never get involved with drugs. Who knew that a homeless person, who I went to feed, would become my biggest source of inspiration to succeed? It goes to show just how truly amazing and interesting life can be, and that the chance to learn and become better, even if it is from a homeless woman, is always around us and not only in the school environment. I took her a meal, but she gave me food for life.

By Paris A. Warner