about inspiration.

Last week, I went with my boss to a luncheon for Wind Youth Services.  If you are unfamiliar, Wind is an organization designed for giving homeless youth a home.  It's more than just walls, though.  It's trained counselors, nurses, artists, caregivers and whole hearted good people.  The facility is fabulous.  It has a washer and dryer, a high school with a sweet teacher, a place for them to get treated if they are sick, and big open space for the youth to learn.  There is also a full-time shelter that houses kids permanently up until they are 18 years old, or until they have a place to go.

{image courtesy of the Wind Youth Services Website}

Although I was impressed by the facility, I was even more impressed by J.  J gave me a tour around the entire property.  And while I was getting the tour, I thought she worked there.  I thought she was a counselor who helped out the youth.  And at the end of the tour, she said "I live in the shelter".

J is one in a million.  She is so kind and vibrant.  She didn't wear any resentment on her sleeves.  She was just happy to show me around.  Impressed is an understatement.

It's hard to believe and understand how many homeless youth are living around us.  Many of them were just born into it, some of them were abandoned, and some of them end up homeless by chance.  According to the organization, an estimated 1700 homeless youth live in my area alone.

J inspired me, and here I thought meeting them I was supposed to do the inspiring.

Meeting her got me thinking.  I thought about her all weekend.  Her strength, her ability to persevere.

I wrote her a thank you card and gave it to her this morning (we did a youth homeless outreach event today - the youth from Wind were helping us feed the homeless).  I hope she knows how impressed I was by her.

"Life is like a game of cards.  The hand that is dealt to you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will." 

-Jawaharal Nehru

"After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box."  

Italian Proverb

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure."  

-William Feather

{PS. her name isn't "J" - I did that to protect her identity.}
If you are interested in learning more about the shelter or donating, click on the link above.