Day 1- The plunge!

June 10, 2009- Day 1-

How do I feel? Numb. I’ve seen this before and I’m not surprised. What I was surprised about, however, was more about how I was in there. Actually allowing myself to see it and feel it. All our lives we’ve been told that these are the ‘not safe’ areas. The standard thing to do is to help through organizations where the facilities are much more acceptable for students like us. But this is different. It doesn’t get any more grass root than this. Do I like this? No. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps, it’s something to do with the fact that it’s my first step into this neighborhood that I’ve been avoiding all my life.

In the past few years I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand how to place myself in society. Of what is my purpose? I’ve been trying to bridge my experiences from what I want to do, what I should be doing and to what I’m meant to do. While I still ponder over these questions, I want to understand how these children in the slums would answer these questions for themselves. They live a raw life, but you see a difference in their aspirations and their value for life.

Today. I don’t have much more to say and I might not be as coherent. For now, all I know is this me really stepping outside my box. Sometimes worldly experiences cannot compare to how you feel when you experience the problems at home. I need time and patience.