The Skid Row Reflection

Suzan Ramirez
Skid Row Reflection In discussing skid row I felt like I was looking at things from two different perspectives. I felt as if I was two different people viewing one thing and reacting differently. There is this idea of double consciousness and I never understood what that felt like, but on this trip I felt that. It felt like I was viewing it from the perspective of my peers but then I was viewing things from the perspective of what I know. I will be talking about not only what experienced in viewing the things at skid row, but also about what I saw in my peers and how I experienced their experiences. As we walked down skid row, I couldn't help but think of how often I had been around that culture. I thought of all the times homeless people would be asleep on my front yard, and all the times my cousins were so high on some kind of drug that I would have to help them look somewhat decent. I couldn't help but think of this lady named Samantha who shared with me about how her kids had given up on her. I couldn't help but think of the man who I gave breakfast to, two times a week every week for a year. The people who were in front of me were just another victim of this fallen world, and all I could think about …show more content…
I was always told don't speak to people on the street because of safety reasons. Yet, even then I was taught to have discernment more than anything. I was taught to make a choice of who is sane enough to remember a kind smile and a wave hello, and who was only looking for trouble. This is where I would say I struggled with two sides of me. There was a part that said they're human just like you and some people need you to give them the time of day. While the other part said safety first look straight ahead and don't make large