Elijah C., Oakwood High School
Joy at the Soup Kitchen
We all have had that childhood moment where we lost our ignorance and realized that the world didn’t revolve around us. For me, that moment changed so much more than just that. Up to that point, I had never been someone that cared about the needs of other people. But on that day, I discovered the joy of compassion and giving to others. Today, I will share with you the story of my church soup kitchen, the turning point in my life where I realized that I could make a difference and help the less fortunate.
It was a sweltering sunny day in July. The year was 2018, but it still feels like yesterday. As an ignorant 8 year old boy, I only cared about my legos and winning the next school soccer game. My family was attending church every Sunday, but as an 8 year old with a minimal attention span, I was often quite bored. I knew that my mom worked at the church soup kitchen, but I always turned her down when she offered to take me with her. The idea of sitting in the church basement handing out food to homeless people wasn’t appealing to me. As a young boy in a stable household, I hadn’t quite wrapped my head around the idea of people sleeping on the streets, never knowing when their next meal would come. In my mind, everyone lived in a nice house with all of their needs taken care of.
Thankfully, one summer night, my mom dragged me out of the house and drove me to the church. As I shuffled down the dusty staircase, I was not enthused about handing out food for an hour; however, when I walked into the basement, I had a complete change of heart. I saw all the families being served–the kids’ faces lighting up when they were handed sweets. We handed out all sorts of food: sandwiches, soup, potatoes, and cookies. And at that moment, I felt like I was benefiting the community and making the right choice. A job that seemed so mundane at first began to excite me. I felt good about helping these people. By giving them food, I could share in their joy.
This may seem like a small moment of happiness in my life, meaningless and easily forgotten. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. After this day, a fire was lit inside of me. I had realized how the less fortunate truly lived. But instead of feeling bad for these people, I became excited to help them. For the first time in my young life, I felt fulfilled and knew that I had made a difference in someone’s life that day. After that day, I always listened to my mom and went to the kitchen every chance I got. Seeing the smiles of all the children, even in their over sized torn clothes, gave me a feeling of happiness that I will never forget.
