His name was also Michael. Age 38, African American, about 6’1”. He lives without a home in Downtown San Jose. He said he would never leave this city because this was where his mother raised him. He stands in front of La Victoria every night asking passers-by for all the pocket change he can get to hopefully buy something to eat; even the smallest thing cheered him up, like apple pies from McDonald’s, which he said was like candy to him, or a burger from Carl’s Jr. or Jack in the Box nearby.

I don’t normally give things to homeless people because I was raised to believe that karma was what brought people to their position in society. A person living on the streets meant they were not capable of working hard; it meant that they were substance abusers. They do not care how the world viewed them, for they do not give a damn about the world in the first place. The inevitable? Homeless. However, for some unexplainable reason, how I would normally define homeless did not seem to matter to me tonight. I listened to his story, tried to relate to him, and I really got him to open up to me. He was just like anybody else… only he ended up separated from his family. With shoes but no socks, jacket with no zipper, pants that were not long enough, he stands at the same spot every night in the cold.

I ask myself, “What would be the right thing to do in this situation?” Do I ignore him and walk away-like most of us would do-or pity the man and do something to contribute and lessen his desperate need for survival? I walked away and I hear this:

               Thank you for listening to my story. God bless you.

I walk back to him a few minutes later and hand him my Adidas sports bag with three brand new shirts along with a sweater and a pair of socks, which were all sitting in the back of my car trunk. Along with the clothes I also gave him $11. As speechless as he was, he gave me a hand shake followed by an unexpected hug.

Something told me I did the right thing tonight despite my beliefs. I will be praying for him as he continues to fight for his last breath, alone.

I am suffering through depression. I feel like a failure, and I just wish I could start my life all over. I want to drop out of college, but I know if I do, I will lose all my support from my family. They are looking up to me to do what’s right, but what does that have to do with me being happy? I am constantly stressed out over schoolwork, and I’m not even getting the grades I want. I should be studying for my math exam tomorrow night, but I can’t even stay focused to finish what I said I was going to do.

Is there someone I can talk to? I would go to my girlfriend, but I don’t want to disappoint her and let her down…

I told myself I wouldn’t sign up for early classes to avoid traffic over the summer. GG.

De Anza

EWRT 1A (Monday-Thursday) 7:30am-9:45am

Econ 1 (Tuesday-Thursday) 3:00pm-5:25pm

(?) Basketball (Monday & Wednesday) 7:30pm/8:00pm-10pm

Foothill

Calc 1A (Monday-Thursday) 10:30AM-12:45PM