Being at Wayne State we see plenty of homeless people. The other day I was eating at Epicurious which has a $5 one topping large pizza. I ordered it and couldn't finish it all by myself so I took a carry out with food with me. As I walked to the UGL I seen a homeless man picking for cans. I figured I was full and he could use the meal so I asked him if he would like some pizza. The man nodded and took it graciously and sat down instantly to eat the meal. I really had nothing to do that day so I decided to talk to him, and try to understand why he was where he was. As I spoke I noticed he had a hard time talking. After about 15 minutes I had conversed with the man (his name is David) to write a short story about his life. Turns out he was impaired as a child and went to a special school because he couldn't talk. He likes Wayne State and every Sunday a man gives him $50. He seemed content with his life for the most part but I couldn't shake that this man probably went through his entire life thinking this is how life is. For him this struggle was not so. It was normal. He told me his favorite food is pizza and hamburgers. I'll be sure to take him out to eat sometime if I catch him again.
I could connect to Kim the same way I connected to David. I admire the toughness of being able to adapt to life, and accepting whatever life you live. Sometimes I wish I would have served my country rather than come to college, for I feel a larger sense of nobility sacrificing my time for a greater purpose. I had a tough time with this book, not because the language was hard, but I couldn't read it without pondering life every 30 minutes. I don't know if anyone has ever been through specific hardships but if anyone could tell me about life as an orphan from personal experience I'd love to hear.
I am with you on the not being able to read it "without pondering life every 30 minutes." I am 36 years old and am still like Kim, trying to find a place in this world, being dragged this way and that way by society, but really just wanting to choose the path of adventure and constant soul-searching. I was in the military and met so many different kinds of people, soldiers and civilians, that I feel I ended up with a profound sense of empathy. I think that Kim is sort of like that. He wants to be a part of it all and he realizes the things he has to do to learn all the ways of life, but he keeps wanting to fulfill his promise to help the lama. From everything he has seen, his empathy drives him to accomplish this goal.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with all that has been stated here; this relates back to your blog as well Scott. It seems many of us can really relate to Kim and how we are finding out paths in life. Do we follow the sheep and go work for a corporation who pays us well, gives us benefits, etc. or do we look deeper into our souls and the city in which we live and find a better purpose in life? I too have come across some "david's" over the course of my WSU career and have often wondered how they got to that place. I am also taking ENG 5480 with professor duncan who has been a great inspiration to me in more than one course over the past few years; his class always makes me think more about who I am, where I came from, how I have or have no adapted to my environment and how that environment has changed from when I was a child and how it differs from where I thought I would be when I was my age...I truly enjoy the overlap of my courses, past courses, my personal experiences and the new readings each week in my classes seem to blend to gether and provoke so much thought.
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