By Macon Allen

Today was our third day volunteering in the bitterly cold Chicago, Illinois. We went to A Safe Haven and worked in their food pantry as a part of our direct service piece for our immersion trip. I’m always hearing about homelessness and seeing it portrayed in the media, but I never realized its full effect until this trip. We bagged fruits and vegetables in preparation for the impending frenzy of shoppers that would later flood the small area we were operating from. I wasn’t aware of this rush, so I was a bit puzzled by the hurried pace everyone else seemed to be in. Eventually people started coming through our line and we ended up serving over 100 people with tons of food! People were actually struggling to carry all the food we gave them. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing someone smile with a handful of food knowing that they will be able to eat this week. So many of the people going through the line were overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of so much food and so many people eager to help them. One woman even called me handsome a few times to express her gratitude! J

During reflection, we discussed the stereotypes we all carry and how we’ve broken them on this trip. I’ve truly gained a new lease on life from this experience and do a lot less complaining and a lot more appreciating while I roam the streets of Chicago in a blizzard; there are so many less fortunate than us and it is our job as student volunteers to give back to this world and make it a better place. After all, aren’t we the future?