My Reflection Paper

I arrived at the location at six o’clock at night. There was Ken and Adam waiting for my arrival. At this point we were not sure if Danny was going to show up for the twenty four hours. He didn't show up to the location until 7:35 pm, an hour and thirty five minutes late. So at this time I'm now left hoping that we aren't going to attend the twenty four hours on the streets. I never had to sleep on the streets and live with my sleeping bag on my back all day long. At eight o’clock p.m. I had to hand over my keys to my car, my cell phone, and I.D. card to Adam. I left with fifty cent to my name and a sleeping bag inside my backpack.

This one night seemed to never end. Now I was watching the kids engage in questionable behavior and carry on in ways that I wasn't really sure about. They didn't have any money on them, but they need to find money to get them through the evening. I was bottled up with fear of asking for money or taking advantage of someone. It wasn't my ideal. It just seemed to be hard for me to do. I just wanted to crawl up into a ball and cry. The group of kids started walking up the street to the nearest AM/PM station.

As I reflect on this life, I had really noticed something. Living this way is really hard.  You really have to be physically fit to do all this walking, hopping fences, and crawling through the gates. At this point we were standing in some carport area. We were asked to leave the city of Fullerton. There are signs posted saying that you are not allowed to be in specific areas from two am to five am. So we were walking and walking. After the kids were tried or didn't have any money on them. They would become very hungry, so with no money we were forced to look through the trash cans for food. The smell of the trash bins made me almost vomit. They found food, they had pancakes, and old brown eggs it looked really spoiled. After our so-called dinner, we were now looking for a place to sleep. We had to sleep on the cold, hard ground. I slept in a card board box. I really didn't even sleep; I slept with one eye open. Because I was filled with so much fear, I even counted the minutes and seconds until the twenty four hours where up.

Even though I went through all of this I have to say that this was a life changing experience. It really makes you appreciate what you have in life. You also get to see, and experience what the people on the streets go through everyday. This will be one of those unforgettable experiences in my life.

Written By: Serrena Huddleston

STANDUP FOR KIDS - Orange County Volunteer