You walk through the city streets and a rugged man with a can in his hand makes himself comfortable on the sidewalk. You quickly walk past already assuming; he's a junkie, he's going to spend his money on alcohol, he's bad news..point blank. Then you go about your day, you never give the homeless man another thought. Well not me, I had the pleasure of conversing with a needy man at Union Station. As I was sitting outside waiting for my friend he came and sat on the bench next to me. Me being Me, and always looking for an opportunity to socialize I smiled and said "hello" which to my surprise sparked into a lovely, meaningful conversation.
Any previous judgments I could've possibly had about this man, completely diminished during our conversation. I learned that he was an accountant and was married with two children, until one day his world came crashing down. A horrible drunk driving accident left his wife and two kids dead. He had lost all that he loved in life and had simply given up.
My heart went out to that man, his secret story that nobody had bothered to learn had me devastated. Astonishing enough, he gave ME words of advice at the end of our conversation. He advised me to stay in school and live life the right way because it was too short to let slip away. He also unconsciously taught me the true meaning of the cliche "You can't judge a book by its cover" .
That man made a huge impact on me. He made me realize that things really aren't necessarily what they seem. I am more hesitant to judge anyone and treat everyone with respect; the grumpy elderly man next door, the moody cashier, or even the homeless man on the bench... Everyone has a story.
