In an hour I will be headed over to school for Homeless Night. About 90 students will be spending the entire night outside. I debated how I should dress- it is supposed to be in the 30's overnight. So far I have a t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, winter coat, shorts, sweatpants, two pairs of socks (one knee-high pair), a pair of one-size-fits-all gloves, mittens, ear-warmers, and a hat. Along with these, I will have not one, but two sleeping bags, two blankets, and a pillow. Right now I have on all of my gear (I decided it would be a smart idea to see if it all fits), and just typing this entry is making me hot. Hopefully, all of these layers will keep me warm overnight, or at least from catching pneumonia.
I have never done this before, but it is supposed to be fun. I am excited. It seems wrong for me to hope to have a good time, though, because the people that are actually homeless do not choose to be.
More than the fact that I don't want to think about it, it is difficult for me to imagine what being homeless would be like. Living in Iowa, our homeless numbers are far below those of Washington D.C. and New York. I have not, as most of the students at our school, been exposed to the homeless in the same way- it merely goes on the backburner. And when I do see someone without a home, I admit that I don't feel the immediate urge to go up and interview them about their life (they probably wouldn't care for this conversation, either).
So tonight will be a first-hand experience, allowing me to zero in on a topic that I know little about. I cross my fingers it will go well, but who knows. I'll update tomorrow to tell how it went.
I have never done this before, but it is supposed to be fun. I am excited. It seems wrong for me to hope to have a good time, though, because the people that are actually homeless do not choose to be.
More than the fact that I don't want to think about it, it is difficult for me to imagine what being homeless would be like. Living in Iowa, our homeless numbers are far below those of Washington D.C. and New York. I have not, as most of the students at our school, been exposed to the homeless in the same way- it merely goes on the backburner. And when I do see someone without a home, I admit that I don't feel the immediate urge to go up and interview them about their life (they probably wouldn't care for this conversation, either).
So tonight will be a first-hand experience, allowing me to zero in on a topic that I know little about. I cross my fingers it will go well, but who knows. I'll update tomorrow to tell how it went.
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