JenniferParsons

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Today we all went to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

The first hall was contributed to the Photographs of Safe Haven’s “Seeing Ourselves” presentation. It was set-up to inform us about what Safe Haven is. As I walked through the hallway of photography and read the captions to the side of each picture, I began to realize more and more of how blessed I am to have not had to face the hardships these people are facing each day.

“Children experiencing homelessness often mature faster than their peers who live in permanent housing,” states an excerpt by the photograph “Rodneka.” I believe this is a true statement because they are forced to grow up faster because they are introduced to the hardships of life at an earlier stage, one in which most children who are fortunate enough to have a stable home do not have to face until later years in their life. Maturity and understanding of the world is a necessity in taking care of oneself and living out in the real world, therefore homeless children are fast learners when it comes to these aspects of life.

As I walked through the hall and looked at the photographs and read the captions, I felt sorry for the people they were reflecting. After viewing the pictures, I stopped by the video that was playing about the Safe Haven and its contributions. As I watched the video and saw how big of a blessing Safe Haven has been to the many people who are homeless, I was very glad to see that there are still good people in the world willing to help those in need. The long I watched the video, the more tears began to form in my eyes as I listened to the families tell their stories. Many of them feeling as if they had hit rock bottom, Safe Haven lent them a helping hand as they got back on their feet to a better life. As the video was coming to an end, the story of the last family left me crying. It touched me in a way that homelessness has not touched me before.

Watching these videos and actually encountering homeless people has opened my eyes to a whole new perspective. I have a different point of view and it is as if I never really knew what it was. I am thankful to get the chance to have gone on this trip and for all the things I have been blessed with.

I believe that it was rewarding for me to watch the video about the Safe Haven because it gives me more hope that there are good people out there who are willing to help those in need. I find it uplifting to see that so many people are willing to help and that there are so many people out there still willing to try to make a better life for themselves and turn it all around.

I will admit, however, that I have been frustrated with the size of the bottled pop we received with our meal at the Frist Center. Paying $1.25 for a 12 oz. bottle of pop was outrageous! It was hardly enough to satisfy my thirst throughout my meal of half a sandwich and a salad.

Something funny happened today while we were at the Frist Center. While we were looking at the art work, the security guards came up to the girl with me and asked her if she could put her backpack strings on one side of her shoulder. When asking her to do so, he laughed, as did we, as he turned and walked away. After leaving that section of the Center, we walked downstairs to look at artifacts. After looking at one piece of work, another security guard came up and said the exact same thing.