My Time In Indiana...

Upon a few places I’ve been to in my life so far, Indiana has been one of the toughest locations I’ve experienced in getting help from the locals. Prior to visiting Indiana, I have always moved from place to place in hopes of finding a location I can call home. With that being said, I am firm in my own belief that I cannot personally call Indiana my home.

Why? Well ever since I have arrived here I had struggled to maintain a job for lack of transportation since every job I had applied for was distanced far, too far on foot for someone like myself with personal physical problems and for the lack of connections since I am obviously not from here. Now you’re probably asking why I even came down here in the first place, and the simple answer is I did it for a woman. As you all are probably wondering, am I still with this woman? No.

Another life lesson I learned in my recent travel here is that you will never know someone truly until you have met and lived with them under the same roof; getting back to the topic at hand.

Does this make Indiana all that terrible? Well here’s some good news. Yes, my time here has been terrible but it has also been a very humbling experience. Why is that? Well when you have no choice but to resort to surviving inside of a shelter home located at the heart of Indiana’s downtown city of Indianapolis, wholeheartedly provided by the local community’s church, you learn that you are not alone in life’s struggle to survive.

My last two days here have been quite interesting. Not only have I experienced what it’s like to live in a shelter home, but I have also experienced what it’s like to meet the staff and the people living within the home itself.

The staff are very hardworking people, who on the outside don’t look like they care that much but on the contrary work very hard through their own blood, sweat, and tears. They do what they do here for the homeless of Indiana because deep down in their hearts they care for the people of their state and city, especially during this difficult time where COVID-19 is spreading more rapidly.

The homeless here is a whole different topic I would like to cover, but to generally explain the homeless here would be like describing each plant or flower in a giant botanical garden. For those who are still curious by what I mean when I say that, just know that every homeless individual here has a heart that needs help opening, just like a plant that needs help growing to its full purpose.

To summarize, Indiana is just like any other state in the U.S. with people who are struggling to get through life and make the most of it. My advice to the reader is whether you are from Indiana or not, always stay human and helpful no matter what type of situation you may be in because there are those that need that small bit of sunshine to sprout and become something beautiful.

-JM