Journey Into Detroit
My Life Altering Journey
I am going to venture on a week long life altering journey through the city of Detroit. I will be helping out the needy and less fortunate. Detroit is in need of much help and is enduring a rough time. There are many people that could are in need of help in life and could benefit from the smallest of things. Detroit is in a deep state of poverty and many citizens of Detroit are struggling to escape the poverty. I feel like by taking this trip I will get a better understanding of how fortunate I am. I will see how much better off in life I have in than many people do. Once I get back I will appreciate all the little things in life that help make my life the way it is. Many people in world, such as many of those living in Detroit, would do anything to have just one of many of the little things I get everyday. An example would be place to live. I take it for granted but many people are not fortunate enough to have a steady place to stay every night. I believe once I return home from Detroit I will be a much more aware and appreciative person.
Covenant House Michigan
The Covenant House Michigan is a shelter in Detroit for the homeless, at-risk, and runaway youth ages 13-22. They work to keep these children out of trouble such as violence, drugs, gangs and work to improve their education. They try turn kids lives in the right direction when their parents are unable to. During my time there i will be volunteering throughout the shelter helping the kids. I will talk to them about their life and what got them there, and try to help lead them down the right path. I will also tutor them and help them with their school work. I will be doing anything I can to help the children and do whatever ever I can do to help the Covenant House reach their achievements.
http://www.covenanthousemi.org/
Ride Down 7 Mile
There are plenty of bad neighborhoods located in Detroit. One of the most famous is 8 mile which was made famous in Eminem's movie "8 mile." 7 mile is very similar to 8 mile in most regards but is considered to be slightly worse. There is more crime and violence in the 7 mile neighborhood. I am going to spend a day within the 7 mile neighborhood. I will talk to the people that live in the neighborhood and see what life is like for them along with attempting to vist some of the homes. I believe that throughout my day spent in the 7 mile neighborhood I will get a better understanding for how good I have it. I believe I will appreciate my life a lot more, and appreciate all of the little things I have that make my life easier.
American Jewelry and Loan
American Jewelry and Loan is a famous pawn shop in Detroit known for having a show on A&E about it. The show "Hardcore Pawn" documents the day to day operations of the pawn shop, and how hard it is to run a pawn shop in rough city. When I go there I am going to spend the day observing the day to day operations of the pawn shop. I will also be observing what kind of things people bring into the shop and the measures that take to get just a little bit of money. Along with this I will be talking to the customers seeing what they need the money for and how deeply in need of money they are. This will make me appreciate how good the quality of life I have given to me by my parents.
Boys and Girls Club- Detroit
My last stop on my trip in Detroit will be at the Boys and Girls Club- Detroit. On my final stop I would like to spend some more time with children seeing what it is like to grow up in Detroit. While at the Boys and Girls Club I will volunteer helping out with whatever they need help with. I am hoping to spend a lot of time with the children and I would love to be able to talk to the children about their life. I am hoping that I will be able to better appreciate how my life has been growing up and have greater appreciation for how my parents raised me.
On my week long journey throughout Detroit I learned a lot that I believe will make this trip life-altering. I got a lot out of all of my stops throughout the trip. Observing how different the quality of life is in Detroit made me realize a lot about my life, that I believe will benefit me greatly. One thing I learned is to appreciate all of the little things I have in life that some others do not. Examples would be food everyday, a house to live in, a cell phone, my own room, and a car. Many people are not fortunate to have any of them and would do anything to have just 1 or 2 of them. I learned how lucky I am to have grown up the way I have. It was not until I got back from this trip that I realized how appreciative I should be of my parents for the way in which they raised me. I am really luck to live the life I do because it could be a lot worse. I learned that I need to stop complaining over stuff I do not get because that is just greedy, because I am provided with everything I need plus more. This trip has made me look at life from a whole other viewpoint than I previously did.
Citations
Cook, Rebecca. "Detroit Manager." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://www.businessinsider.com/detroit-manager-balance-sheet-14-months-2013-8>.
"Covenant House breaks the homeless cycle." Chevy Detroit. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://chevydetroit.com/covenant-house-breaks-the-homeless-cycle-children-charity-help-detroit/>.
"Detroit Lost." 24 Flinching. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://24flinching.com/word/featured/detroit-lost/>.
"Reality of TV Fame." Allison's World. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://allisondawnpr.com/blog/tag/reality-tv-fame/>.
"7 Mile Road." Detroit Funk. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. <http://detroitfunk.com/?tag=7-mile-road>.