Go ahead, act like a kid

Submitted November 09, 2011 by Emily | 0 comments

Sometimes, I act like a kid. I don’t think of it as a bad thing, though. In fact, I think it’s one of the better parts about me. Because the way I see it, kids are some of the greatest things in our world. Life is still simple to them; still good. They play. They explore. They build forts out of cardboard boxes and bed sheets. They don’t worry about whose bedroom has the most square footage or who has the latest model matchbox car. Life is good and easy when you’re a kid. Or at least it should be. Did you know that in America 16.2 million kids struggle with hunger? So on a regular basis, 1 in 5 children in America doesn’t have access to enough nutritious food. They’re hungry. Sometimes they have no idea when or where their next meal will be. That’s not good and it’s definitely not easy. 

Just last night my roommate and I were hungry and complaining about our empty fridge. But the thing is, not only was it far from being actually empty, but we were able to walk across the street to the grocery store and restock it in no time. That’s not hunger. We know nothing about what hunger really is, yet we go ahead and inaccurately liken ourselves to the millions of children in America who experience it every single day. I can’t even begin to imagine what true hunger feels like, but those little kids playing on the playground down the block? They might not have to imagine.

Second Helpings currently delivers meals to 68 agencies throughout Indianapolis. Of those, 42 percent cater specifically to children. Recently I was fortunate enough to visit one of these agencies and I wish I had better words to share what it was like for me. The thing is, I adore kids. If I could spend my entire day playing and learning with them I would. So to see all of these children playing and laughing over one of our meals, yet knowing myself that for some of them this might be the only meal they know every day, it’s not only heartbreaking, but it’s also humbling. We complain about missing breakfast because we oversleep or passing on lunch because it just isn’t what we have a taste for, but these children aren’t given a choice. And for some of them, hunger might be all that they know. Yet they still play and laugh and have fun with their friends. Whatever their situation or hardship might be, it doesn’t stop them or even slow them down. Me? I don’t know that I have that kind of strength.

We hear about hunger all of the time; see the commercials and hear the announcements. When we were younger we weren’t allowed to waste our vegetable because somewhere in the world was a hungry child who would love to eat them. We may not be ignorant to hunger, but I for one know that I can be blind to it. Yes there are hungry people around the world, but there is also a hungry child right down the street. And around the corner. And on the next block. As much as it breaks my heart to see some of the faces of those children, I am so grateful of the opportunity to meet them. They remind me why it is we do what we do and who it is we’re doing it for. And to be perfectly honest, I wish I could act even more like those kids sometimes. I wish I could see the world the way they do –to see the good and not understand the bad; to not recognize sadness and misfortune as what they are and to just be happy with what I do have. The life of a child is simple, but it’s not always easy. If they scrape their knee isn’t it up to us to kiss it and make it better? Well, today they’re hungry, and it’s up to us to give them something to eat.

 

 

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