It made me want to become a better person all the time.

(from a summer online AMH2020 student)

My mission that I chose to do was to feed the homeless, but during my act of kindness I experienced something even more beautiful that will stick with me till the day I die.

I know on certain days at McDonalds they serve food for very cheap, like hamburgers and cheeseburgers for $0.50 I believe, so I decided to go there and buy as many as I could with $20 and go out and pass them around to anybody I saw that looked like they were homeless or looked like they were even hungry at that. People were being so grateful when I would give them some food because they felt like nobody cared about them. One guy even almost teared up because he said nobodies talked to him in weeks and that the cheeseburger I gave him was the first hot food he’s had in a while. As this was all going on I was dealing with many different emotions. Giving these people this food really made me sad because these are human beings and I think that just because they are homeless it does not mean we should abandon them like an old rundown car. At one point I was a little mad at myself due to the fact that I have always been so selfish and never gave these people the time of day and would just walk by them. I felt as if I was ever in that predicament that I would just be so sad that people would walk by me. Overall, I was mostly happy because of the reactions I was getting from not only the people I was giving the food too, but to people driving by me. Seeing them so happy to eat this food was ultimately a great feeling. I passed out over 20 burgers in an hour and it just opened up my eyes to how many homeless people there really are in Tallahassee. I don’t see why somebody couldn’t just grab some extra change they have lying around and go do the same thing.

While I was passing out the last of the cheeseburgers, I saw something that caught my eye. As I was driving over by the stadium I noticed from what I saw was a person that seemed to be blind trying to cross the road. It honestly got me so frustrated that as I drove by people were walking right by this guy as if he was perfectly okay to just cross the road. So I had my friend pull over on the side of the road and put his hazards on so that I could get out and help him. I walked up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder and said “I gotcha buddy”. I just saw a smile on his face after I said that. As I was crossing the road with him I saw multiple people staring at me. Two girls were covering their mouths as if they had never seen somebody do that before. Then one guy in a truck gave me a thumbs up as he was smiling. Once I got him across the road he told me that nobody has ever offered to help him across the road since he has lived in Tallahassee. My heart sunk when he said that. It made me question how people could not have ever helped this guy across the road, when you can obviously tell he can’t see if he uses a pole to feel around. I asked him if he needed anymore help and he responded with “you’ve done more than enough for me”. I would have helped him around all day, but he insisted that he would be okay. As I walked back to the car everyone that was still at the light was just staring at me with the same look, a look as if they had never seen somebody do something like that. I was hoping that those people who saw me would do an act of kindness from this and maybe even help him cross the road if they ever saw him again. This is a moment I will never forget because for the first time in my life I felt like I was a good person. Just knowing that I gave all those people food so that they weren’t hungry that night and that helping him across the road put a smile on his face ultimately made me smile.

This whole experience is one that I am honestly glad that I got to do. It definitely opened up my eyes to how one small little thing could change a person’s day. They could be having the worst day of their life and knowing that a small little cheeseburger or a simple walk across the street could change their mood. It shaped me into becoming a better person along the way I think. Instead of just walking by somebody that is sitting on the street struggling, ask them if they need help. If you have some extra change lying around or if you have a little extra food don’t be afraid to go ahead and feed the homeless. What I also gained from this was just because everyone else isn’t doing something, don’t be afraid to branch out and be different. When I see someone struggling with something no matter what it is, I will try and help them. For example, at Publix the other day I witnessed an old lady struggling with her groceries while people just walked by. Of course, I set my stuff down and went over to help her. Before all this I might have just not acknowledged her, but after seeing the joy that some people get out of being helped and the joy I get from helping from helping people is the best feeling in the world. I use to think that I was not that good of person from some of my actions, but after we had to do the secret mission my views have kind of changed about myself. I feel like it made me want to become a better person after this whole experience.