GRADUMATATION

To All the Northland Graduates of 2012:

Congratulations! This is a happy time of year for you all as well as a sad time of year. Very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting. Tons of emotions. Whatever you all do with your lives, I hope that it involves adventure, excitement, and lots of learning. We've learned a lot and have gone through a lot at Northland, and the world will show us even more. It will open our minds and hearts more. Northland was just the beginning, and the world is the next step. Make a difference in lives, and make the best of whatever you have wherever you are. You make your own path. Good luck, and I'll love and miss you all.

Transition time

So in the next couple weeks, life will be very busy. I will be having my last week at work this week and then hauling myself and my car around Lake Michigan to go to Wisconsin. It's a long drive, and I know it. I just made myself a CD to prepare for the drive (and just in case my ipod dies before I am able to charge it). Driving through the countryside you don't get many radio stations, so it's best to be prepared.

I'm really excited to be going on a road trip. Other than possibly my car dying on the way. Next weekend several of my friends will be graduating from Northland -- And I am really excited for all of them. It's just the start of the beginning of a whole new life. It's kinda like when we all left home to go to college.

It's the way life is. All about changes, both good and bad.

I am going to miss all the people that I've met here though. Today at work, I was thinking about how different it will be once I leave. I won't see those people for a while, or even at all in the future. I really like the conversations and topics that may or may not be true but are ridiculous either way. Those safety meetings we keep talking about. Those ridiculous answering machines or comments that people make on the phone. The quotes on life and the comments we make every time Rufus tells a story.

All those great ridiculous times. I will miss it. That's for sure. Hopefully I'll be able to get a picture from Rufus of when we all went bowling for the Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser.

That is, if he's there this week. 

To give, or not to give? That is the question.

You ever have those moments where you're just minding your own business, and a person comes up to you and asks for money? I'm sure everyone has had their fair share of experiences. How many times does that happen? Every week, day, hour? Out of all that, how many times do you actually give in -- give them that one or two dollars?

Most people (I believe) would say they don't do that. I'm sure there are a few that will say they do for the most part. I, on the other hand, am part of the group that looks away for the most part. I know that's bad, but I'm being completely honest. I'm sure you have done that before, if not multiple times - at least once. It's part of the norm. We tend to close or avert our eyes to avoid seeing what we don't want to see. But that doesn't make the issue go away. It's still there.

Pretending that it's not there or that it doesn't affect us happens in a lot of aspects of life. Whether it is an issue with a person, an issue with a group of people, or an issue with government. Lots of people would rather ignore than to do. But it does affect us in some way, and most definitely has a domino effect.

The reason that I bring up this issue is because a few weeks ago, I had a stranger ask for money. I was pumping gas into my car at a local gas station and a van drives up, semi-blocking two cars next to me that were also being filled up. A guy gets out of the van and tells his story.

Everyone has a story. His though, was explaining how someone he knows is in the hospital -- he's on his way to see her -- and he's literally running out of gas with no money on him. I mean, it's definitely one of the excuses I haven't heard. And it sounds legit. In today's world, especially in urban areas, a lot of families are struggling to make ends meet. Gas prices are going up, food is going up -- and still a lot of people are unemployed.

So while hearing this story, I glance at the expressions of the two guys pumping gas into their cars. Of course, the typical reaction is IGNORE. And you can see it spralled across their faces.

Then the guy adds in this -- that a woman in the car (and she was ligitimately there) had told him to AT LEAST TRY. And that's when I decided I would give him at least something. The way that he had said it made me think that he really didn't think anyone would help, but he was still trying to see if it was possible. Maybe I made that up in my head. I don't remember. It's not like it happened yesterday. I could've made that up for all I know. But it did sound like that.

So I went into my car and grabbed some cash (it was all that I had on me, a $5 bill) and told him to take it. He thanked me and went straight into the gas station. And I straight away booked it out of there.

Why? Why didn't I look back to see what he had actually spent the money on? I mean, I gave him money -- shouldn't I have at least looked to see if he was telling the truth?

To be honest, I did actually think about that. Very briefly. Like literally two seconds. And then a quote that most people have heard from Anne Frank popped into my head:

                  In spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.

I didn't want to think about whether he was lying or telling the truth anymore. I eliminated the thought from my head. If he was lying, well then I helped him at least this one time get away with it -- and was a sucker for it. If he was telling the truth though, well then I helped him make it to the hospital and probably made him believe that sometimes it is worth it to try something that you think wouldn't work.

What would you have done?